Bolt
by AlcatrazisGod
Summary: [AU] A young blonde woman named Eriko lives in a disturbed world owned by a totalitarian utopia. She has hopes of escaping the madness by constantly moving around the world. Eventually, she meets someone named Ichise along with a girl named Ran who accompany Eriko on her journey. At the same time, a blue haired individual named Kano begins his own social revolution.
1. Warped Beauty

_Note: Originally, I had posted a story titled Frostbite for Texhnolyze, but it did not turn out the way I wished it would so I ended up deleting it. I decided instead to replace it with this story. I feel confident that Bolt will be able to capture the mood of Texhnolyze far better than Frostbite could ever dream of. Now, onto the background information of this story. It is AU but then again, I really do not see how a story such as this could not be AU given the ending of Texhnolyze. Regardless, This story mainly revolves around Doc, Ichise, and Ran traveling around a psychotic world, that will not be the only plot point. The primary goal of Bolt is to express my views on the character Kano. I know many will disagree with me, but I felt as if he was the true hero of the show. However, I will go more into that as I develop his character, and his agenda here in this story. There will be many philosophical topics covered in this story, but Kano's ideology, and the concept of totalitarian utopia will be the main points of discussion._

_Now, for those of you who might find yourselves more interested with the world of Cyan in which Bolt takes place. I would recommend reading my Bleach story Cobalt. They both take place in the same world, but they are not technically related. Also, if some of you become more infatuated with the Aryans in this story, and everything revolving around them. Neo Europe is a story I've written for Ergo Proxy which completely revolves around the old 19th century philosophies that involve the Aryans. And with those recommendations and background information out of the way, I leave you all to hopefully enjoy my new story Bolt. Please leave your thoughts._

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><p><span><strong>Warped Beauty<strong>

A horrifically hot sun beamed from far above the clear blue heavens, and burned everything in its wake. A lonely red car drove down an equally lonely and hopeless road. A road where the atmosphere sees to be as oppressive as possible in the face of its intruders. The current intruder facing this heavy and unwelcoming atmosphere was a young woman by the name of Eriko Kaneda.

This woman was 26 years of age. She wore an all black outfit along with a pair of black boots to match it. She had shoulder length blonde hair, and to complete this Aryan-esque picture; she had blue eyes to go along with her blonde hair. Normally, in the world Eriko resided in, she would actually be considered an Aryan. The Aryans were a very important aspect of society in this world, but it took more than mere looks to be an Aryan.

The criteria for being an Aryan most importantly lies in their mentality. They must be absolutely perfect to qualify as the perfect race. This was were Eriko could never be one of them. She was perverted and twisted. An Aryan, such as the one this world demanded, must be innocent in intent, obedient, and kindhearted. Eriko, was none of these things.

The world itself operated strangely, but then again, it was strange place to begin with. The Aryans were the backbone of society, while those non perfect souls preformed the lower duties. This would not lead to anything particularly demeaning, but it was clear who the favorites were.

To any foreigner, the overall world, beyond the social structure would be too abstract to understand. While Eriko drove through the wasted desert, this abstract landscape only made itself more and more clear to her.

She soon drove past a large dead tree. This tree would not have sparked any sort of notable attention until she noticed one of the branches on the tree. Specifically, a larger one that extended outward above the road. This branch was especially strange due to the fact that it was not actually a branch, but a human arm. A human arm attached to the tree which extended past the other branches.

Eriko payed no attention to this since the entire world she called home was filled with things of this nature. This world made no logical sense. It needn't not petty logic, nor did it require a set of physical laws and limitations to abide by. The world itself, was in every definition of the word, an anarchist. The entire planet had an anarchistic nature, while the people or rather, the inhabitants of this demented world proudly lived in a fascist regime.

This regime was quite possible the only thing that kept the primary population of the planet from being driven mad by the sights of this planet. In a way, the world was much more like a dreamscape than a physical plain. It serves as a physical dream the entire population, and other forms of indigenous life experience. Most are completely non-lucid, but every once and awhile one would stumble across someone like Eriko.

She was unfortunately and very sadistically cursed to be as one could describe as 'lucid' to everything around her. In practical use of the word, she was able to fully comprehend the world's more sick aspects and understand just how disturbing they truly were.

Eriko herself was one of the rare souls to be unlucky enough to experience such horrors. However, shew as able to find a rather particular method of keeping the world from growing stranger and stranger around her. She noticed a long time ago that the world changes, most objects as strange as they may seem, are not permanent, and will shift into something worse as time progressed. She could do nothing to keep herself from noticing these scenes, but she could minimize these experiences greatly.

Instead of finding a single place to call home, Eriko became a nomad. She refused to stay in one place for any length of time that might span over a week. She knew that if she were to try and stay in a single spot for longer than a week, her surroundings would become so disorientated and warped, she would not be able to stand it. As a result, pour little Eriko was forced to continue onwards, finding new places to reside in for a little less than a week before moving on to another, saner place. This has been how she lived the last 12 years of her young, meaningless life.

As Eriko drove along this narrow, broken down road across a desert of sand dunes all across the horizon, she turned and looked out the left window to see what appeared to be a cliff. The sand dunes came to an abrupt halt about 20 meters down that direction.

"Hmm," she thought to herself, knowing this part of the landscape would prove most interesting to see. She always liked admiring large canyons. "This is fascinating. I'll have to see what lies at the bottom."

Eriko wasted no time coming to a stop in the middle of the road. She did not even try to pull out of the road since she had not seen a car for days. Eriko then opened the driver's door and stepped out of the only means of transportation she had to her name.

She then looked up to the blue sky above which drastically contrasted with the orange desert below. That would be the one place Eriko would like to reside in, forever. The sky always seemed to be consistent. It was always blue and accompanied by various clouds that never actually blocked out the sun.

Eriko finally turned away from the sky and looked out towards the cliff edge. "Alright," she mumbled to herself and took her first step off of the solid concrete road and onto the unstable mound of sand before her. Her boot immediately sank into the sand as expected, much to Doc's dismay but regardless, she pressed on.

Eriko made her way to the top of the first sand dune, and looked off ahead of her current position to see if she could see over the cliff from this elevated area. Unfortunately, she could not. Eriko let out an annoyed sigh, knowing she would have to scale another dune even though she could already feel sand seeping into her boots.

It was irritating to say the very least. None of the less, Eriko shifted her way down the dune she was now on. She allowed herself to surf her way to the foot of the dune before pulling her left leg out of the sand and moving forward.

She made her way to the top of the next hill ahead of her which would directly lead over the cliff. It was from the top of this dune that Eriko could see everything at the bottom of the ridge. A large valley, the horizon's themselves cut her off before she could see the end of the valley. The oddest part about this area below, which surprised Eriko greatly would be the fact that she did not see a baron wasteland below which she was expecting given the current climate of this region, but instead, she spotted a large city stretching across the valley.

Eriko examined this city for a long time. She was not expecting to see such a large town out in the middle of the desert. Then again, the climates of this world, a planet called Cyan; were not known for being consistent. It is entirely possible that this area use to be an expansive grassy canyon, until Cyan decided to change its weather patterns.

The pseudo-Aryan woman lifted an eyebrow at the busy town. She could see the large banners of what some called the 'Eternal Regime' pinned against skyscrapers. It was called the Eternal Regime unofficially by some since the despotism ruling over this otherwise insane ball called Cyan has existed for over a thousand years. The actual name for this government was known as the Republic of Cyan. The only reason these large, gorgeous, and well kept cities were even present throughout the world is because of this governing body. The only thing in Cyan that was consistently organized. The only reason the people of Cyan had any value or reason to live.

It was clear now that there was nothing left in this sick desert for young Eriko. She knew the cities were perfectly normal. They were not nearly as ominous and in some cases, many of them were known for having a utopian social structure. Eriko had no qualms about spending over a month in one of them. She would like to live in the confines of one of these urban environment, but she simply could not bring herself to do so.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, inside this enormous labyrinth of metal and concrete; a 28 year old man named Kazuho Yoshii was standing in front of two armored guardsmen. Yoshii wore orange pants which was accompanied by an equally orange jacket and white undershirt. He he also wore a gray hat over his clean cut black hair. Yoshii was also known for his mustache. The men standing in Yoshii's path were peacekeepers of the cities.<p>

They each wore a morion helmet over their heads. They both had a protective metal breastplate that covered their bodies as if it were a vest. They each wore rather fancy bright red and orange striped undershirt with matching pants. Their sleeves came out from under the breastplates and covered their entire arms. The sleeves along with the pants were puffed out as if they were knights of an archaic monarchy, or actors in a Shakespearean play. These men also wore tall leather boots and armored gauntlets. Another interesting detail about these two guardsmen was the Spanish halberd they held firmly in their hands.

"Oh come on," Yoshii pleaded calmly with a slight grin on his face. "You mean you can't just let one person through? I'll only be in there for a few minutes."

"We will leave the premises momentarily," the guardsman on the right informed. "However, we cannot allow you to enter until we do. It would be a breach of security. Exorcise patients and we will be out of here in no time."

Yoshii stared at the two guards for a good interval of time. He finally smiled and nodded. With that silent gesture given, Yoshii turned away. The two guards watched him closely as he began walking away from them. He would soon disappear into the gathering crowd on the streets, not to be seen by the guardsmen again.

* * *

><p>A young man, no older nor younger than 19 years of age sat on the ledge of a street fountain in the middle of the city plaza. He had blue eyes and black hair. This young man wore a light blue shirt and white pants. His facial expressions, emotionless. His words were non-existent. He was a completely silent individual. Very rarely would the young man named Ichise ever utter a word.<p>

What was the point of words in such a senseless planet? That was Ichise's mentality. He, just like Eriko, was completely aware of the madness and inconsistencies brought on by the one and only world of Cyan. He had accepted Cyan to be nothing more than a 3 dimensional painting created by a twisted surrealist artist.

Everyday, he would see the world change, even within the city. Small changes, such as one day his mailbox was perfectly normal. He would open it up, retrieve the envelops inside, and return to the inside of his home without a complaint. A few days later, he would open up the mailbox and find a human eye inside, looking at him. This was only a minor thing compared to some of the other demented scenes Ichise had viewed in his young life.

He always wondered how a literal utopia could be born out of such a freak show of a world. How could a regime so powerful rise up from such an insane planet, unify the people, and be able to successfully function around the globe. It almost seemed impossible.

Another thing Ichise could not figure out was the purpose for the dictator, fuhrer, king, or anything else one could call that man; coming to Cyan and organizing the population. Ichise himself had given up all of his hopes, and dreams at a young age due to Cyan being such a pointless place to begin with. He could not understand why the first leader of the now very present Republic of Cyan care enough to bring a despotism to the planet.

None of the less, this was the case. Victor Aben was the name of this man. The man who conquered the absolutely worthless Cyan and brought order to it. He may not have ever been the most benevolent of leaders, but at least he was always a great leader. Aben was also the only leader. Back when the Republic of Cyan was first formulated, Aben's superstitious cabinet members feared the future leaders would not be as skilled as Aben. They feared eventually, their little kingdom would crumble due to sheer incompetence of the future generations.

The members of Aben's cabinet then proceeded to work at a way to keep him in power for as long as possible. Of course, Ichise was not alive when this was an issue, and he never figured out how they were able to keep Aben alive all this time.

Ichise never truly found himself fascinated by such trivial details. He was not actually concerned with much of anything. It was not like he was ever in any immediate threat of danger, nor was there any shining sign of hope for him. His life was a single line of black and white just as everyone else was. Everyone else except for the god-like Aryans that is.

As Ichise sat there on the ledge of the unimpressive fountain, he spotted something peculiar on the ground. There at his feet, moving around like a shadow on the old concrete was what appeared to be static. This static strongly resembled the visuals one would see after flipping their television to a dead channel.

This static continued to act as Ichise's shadow. It danced around at his feet for no apparent reason. Eventually, the static slowed its motion and abruptly crawled out from under Ichise's feet. It moved along the concrete while Ichise was left to follow it with his eyes.

The static soon surrounded another set of feet just a few meters away from Ichise. The young man watched as the static crawled up this pair of strange legs. Ichise then finally looked up to see who was standing in front of him. To see who the static was so intrigued by.

It was a man in a suit. An all black suit and black tie. He was tall and slender as well. This however, was not the most striking detail about this man. Instead of having a human head, the man had an old vintage television for a head. It sat on top of his shoulders with a blank screen. Ichise then lowered his eyes to see the static was now quickly making its way up the man's pants legs. It crawled up his torso soon after until it finally reached that television head of his.

The static crawled inside the television screen. This in turn, for whatever unexplained reason, caused the television screen to absorb the static and suddenly sound off with a familiar white noise. The same white noise one would hear on a dead channel. Ichise watched this screen for a few moments. The static danced around the screen as if it had always been there while the noise did not cease its screeching.

After a few small seconds of this, Ichise could hear the man himself make some sort of droning noise. It was almost as if he was trying to scream from underneath the television, but all he could produce was a barely audible moan. It would not be too long after before the man finally turned to the right and walked away.

Ichise looked down once more after the man took his leave. He stared at the ground, now lacking in static, with empty eyes. Again. What was the point of trying to save Cyan like Aben did, when creatures such as that hideous monstrosity are technically the norm of the world?

Then again, Ichise never really tried to understand much about this place. While he was in Eriko's same position, he was not as disturbed as she was. He could stay in one place for all of his life, just as he did with this city. He had never left it's streets to see what Cyan had to offer him. He already knew the short answer was nothing. There was no point in leaving the town. He had everything he needed here. Everywhere else only proved to be disturbed. He did not want to see such a disturbing environment. The very environment that lied outside the metaphorical walls of this huge city. A meaningless oblivion was simply not appealing enough for young Ichise to go out of his way to pursue.

* * *

><p>It would not be long at all before night fell. Street lights flickered on, illuminating the city as it always did during the darkness of night. A state curfew was currently in effect over the youth of the city to prevent shenanigans. After all, this city did not belong to the Aryans. They would not be legally aloud to taint themselves by residing in such a low class city. This town was only populated by the non-Aryans. Therefore, while crime was only a minimal factor due to Aben's police state, hooligans were still present.<p>

The curfew only effected those receiving their education which would lead them to become productive servants of society, and prided members of the regime. However, Aben has a theory on crime. The young ones are usually the trouble makers. Therefore, it would be pointless to allow them to run rampant to the streets on week nights. That, and he also wanted each and every child to have a full night's rest before attending their classes the next day.

This curfew, combined with another plan Aben had for the entire world minimized crime to almost zero percent. His second plan involved the cities placing a streetlight on every last street corner. In every dark alley, no matter how abandoned or insignificant, a light was legally required to be present. This led to the frightening of criminals. Their sinister deeds, as Aben had theorized, would be halted under the light. This is why most crimes were committed at night. At a time the more perverse citizens could do what the desired and not run the risk of being seen.

His theory proved correct. Light destroyed all darkness, both physical and metaphorical. This was especially something that Eriko was thankful for. She had only just now found a place to park her vehicle in a location she would easily remember. Unfortunately, to get to the downtown area, a communal center where cars could not travel due to an odd layout decision by city officials; this led to her walking down a lonely road in a not so pleasant part of town.

Either Eriko was completely clueless as to how urban life operated, or she had a lot of faith in those street lights, but an attractive woman such as herself should probably not be traveling thought these particular streets alone at night. Regardless, she was and she was not bothered by a soul either. She soon made her way out of that little suburb and arrived to the marketplace she was looking for.

She was quite literally starving. She had run out of her food supply around three days ago. This was one of the drawbacks that nomads such as herself had to deal with. The risk of accidentally starving oneself was always a factor to take into consideration.

Eriko made her way past a group of guardsmen who were talking casually amongst themselves, keeping watch over the city. She scanned the area for a place to sit down. She had been walking for sometime now, it would be nice to take a small break before she had to go running through the city once more to hunt down something to eat and a place to sleep.

She soon spotted an empty table which was positioned towards the middle of the courtyard along with a cluster of other little tables which had been placed there for people sit and eat at. These tables were more than useful in such a large market area. This was especially useful for Eriko since she was definitely leaning on the exhausted side.

The blonde woman quickly made her way to the table. She placed a light travel bag, which she always carried with her, on the ground just in front of her feet and took a seat on the uncomfortable, but suitable metal chair. She could not help but let out a long sigh to illustrate how tired she was to her little imaginary audience.

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><p>Along a beach in the middle of nowhere. Far from the unnamed city Eriko was resting in. A solitary soul sat on an empty beach under the moonlight. This moon was oddly stripped. Indeed, a multicolored moon. The majority of it was solid white as one would expect from a moon, but there were several huge stripes of a deep blue along the surface of Cyan's moon. One would think this is where the name Cyan came from, but nobody actually knows why the planet is called Cyan, nor are the stripes an aquatic blue. They are more of a cobalt blue rather than cyan.<p>

The young man sitting underneath this moon actually had the hair to match those blue stripes. His hair was just as equally blue. It was rather long as well. He had an odd pair of gold colored eyes to match his just as ominous hair. This man's name was Kano.

Kano sat there in a seemingly quite comfortable set of brown robes. With a flat expression on his face, he continued to write. He held in his hands, a pen along with a set of papers. These two objects would describe Kano's life perfectly. He always had a fascination with philosophy. Even at a younger age, he was constantly working to build a set of functional ideals. He, like Eriko, like Ichise, was a completely lucid soul. As a result, his ability to think clearly and not be bogged down by the dreamlike mentality the majority of the population had; led him to believe in a wide variety of ideas.

Kano's quest to create a set of fundamental concepts which would eventually correlate into one single ideology was finally achieved about two years ago. He had set up his own world view, and his own idea on how Cyan should be ruled over.

The fact that Kano now had his own philosophical protocols would not sit well with the powers at be. Those powers being the supreme ruler of Cyan, Aben. For so long, Kano has kept his mouth shut to the world. He watched as Victor Aben walked around, building cities here and there. Making improvements in certain areas. In fact, Kano was probably the only living person in Cyan who firmly disagreed with Aben's ideology.

It was ironic to say the very least. Aben was known for being a supremacist and fascist. Anyone who would be given the chance to pick Kano's brain for even a few minutes would see no difference between his ideals and those incited by Aben's police state. However, there was one crucial area in which Kano disagreed with Aben. That would be the treatment of non-Aryans. It was not that people like Kano were discriminated against, because they were not at all. It was Aben's attitude towards non-Aryans that Kano did not appreciate.

This in turn led him to create a set of almost unrealistic goals to complete in his life. The first goal of his was entirely plausible. He desired above all, to create a manifesto. A book that held all of his aims, and his overarching agenda within it. It was only now that Kano began working on this book. Kano silently sat on this beach everyday for the past three months writing and writing.

His work began with jotting down possibly ways to give a proper introduction to his ideology. Kano was now in the process of writing this introduction. He himself was definitely to be considered a revolutionary. He did desire social change, but unlike most revolutionaries, Kano did not want to overthrow the current regime.

He felt that Aben does a great job in governing the perfect people, it is with the flawed souls of Cyan that Kano believes change can be made. For instance, Aben tries to govern both Aryans and non-Aryans all in one single sovereignty when the politics are so different from one another. Kano felt it would be better to govern them separately. Another thing that did not sit well with Kano was Aben's complete lack of faith in the non-Aryan population.

Aben has always believed that evolution in the average human was at a stand still. Humans were no longer able to evolve. This conclusion ended up leading to Aben and his regime cease their progressive attitude when it came to the non-Aryans. Barely any new technologies are developed to assist the regulars. Aben stopped his research in evolution entirely. In shorter terms, he gave up on humanity and went to assist the Aryans as best he possibly could.

Originally, Aben had the dream of developing the non-Aryan culture to equal the Aryans. He wanted everyone to be totally flawless. He desired a single, unified utopia for all the people Cyan to enjoy. Unfortunately, things did not go so well for Aben's first agenda. The people simply could not achieve perfection. It was in their nature to fight each other for whatever reason became available to them.

This naturally led Aben resenting the lesser humans. He resented his own people in fact, since Aben himself was not an Aryan. Indeed, the last man on Cyan who truly cared about humanity, cared no longer. Aben lost his once dear dream for the human race. Now however, Kano was here. Kano still had faith in humanity.

Kano believes firmly that there is a way to harness evolution for the entire species. He had hopes the lesser souls would be able to reach the same level the Aryans lived on. He knew perfection within them was nothing more than a pipe dream. Yet Kano was able to develop a new system for evolving humanity further.

This idea lied within the concept of transhumanism. Transhumanism was never a topic for discussion in this world. Nobody ever considered it and it was not like the Republic offered programs that addressed any such issue. It was simply never thought of by anyone. The word was in the dictionary of course, but it never became much of a movement.

Although, this did not stop Kano from making it an issue. He drew out several diagrams to show how the human body would look after being completely 'shaped' as he called it. This concept came about when he realized that this world could possibly be dying off. Kano first considered the thought of the world ending to be his own paranoia, but lately Kano was becoming more and more convinced that this was actually the case.

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><p>Along a solitary road not too far out of the city Eriko had traveled to. The same city Ichise resided in. And the same city that stranger Yoshii is moving around in. Far from the secluded beach where Kano did his writing was one lonely road. This road had a firm population of one person.<p>

This young girl, no older than 14 years of age walked along this narrow path among the same dunes Eriko was driving through earlier in the day. Thankfully, now that night loomed over the silent, and melancholy desert, it was not overly hot. This young girl had bright red hair done up into youthful pigtails. She also had gold eyes similar to Kano's. She wore a maroon coat which extended down to her legs, covering up the shorts she wore underneath. She also had a pair of black traveler's boots on. This young woman's name was Ran.

Ran was a silent and serious individual. She carried a mask on her back which she would occasionally place over her face when she was confronted by a stranger. Ran also always carried a small basket filled with white flowers. Her favorite little flowers. For some reason, Ran absolutely adored the meaningless flowers.

Another thing Ran carried in this basket, and possibly the only form of entertainment she had to her name was an old music player and a set of headphones. She would often put her headphones on and plug in her music when she departed for long walks to wherever she was headed.

Much like Eriko, Ran was technically a nomad. She had no home, but that was no concern to her. Ran only wanted to escape from the horrors of Cyan. This would only mean that Ran was a lucid soul. A very lucid soul.

She never could manage find solitude among the police state that protected so many people from this very planet they all lived on. As a result, Ran was forced to leave her hometown and search for her fate alone. In solidarity did she travel this world. A world which hated her, Ran of course hating Cyan right back.

Ran was yet another meaningless individual who strolled through an equally meaningless world. A world with nihilistic laws and no value to anything. The money here was even being devalued, not to raise inflation but simply due to Aben losing his interest in the economy. Everything seemed to be fading away. This was made more apparent to Ran who was quite an observant little girl.

She could see the end on the horizon. There was only two possible outcomes. Either humanity, nay, the whole of Cyan would finally reach its long awaited crippling end. Or society itself would simply stop caring. Either way, nothing optimistic could ever spawn in a world ruled by sorrow.


	2. Two Faced

_Note: I'll go ahead and give one warning about this story. Since it is in the same series as my other story Cobalt which I mentioned in a previous chapter, even though they are not related to each other, there are spoilers to Cobalt in this chapter. The events of Cobalt ended long before the events of this story even took place. So, for those of you who are interested in this world I've created and would like to enjoy Cobalt as well. I would recommend you read that story before you go on to this next chapter. Keep in mind that it is not necessary to do so since they are not related other than the fact that they take place in the same location. To those of you who do not really care about Cobalt then continue to enjoy Bolt._

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><p><span><strong>Two Faced<strong>

The city of Athena as it was called, had quite the little enigma roaming around in its streets. Yoshii continued walking down that same path he took yesterday when he attempted to gain entrance into an old abandoned building which was now being blocked off by Aben's soldiers.

Yoshii walked up to those same two soldiers that had turned him down yesterday. He was not expecting to see them on guard duty at this hour since he was arriving here at about 9:00AM and those guards were on duty in the evening. Regardless, Yoshii put on a twisted smile as came to a stop in front of the two guardsmen who immediately recognized him.

"I'm sorry to bother you two again," Yoshii muttered in a friendly tone. He then waved at them lightly. "But is there any chance I can get through you? I really need to get inside today."

"No," the guard on the left replied. "Hey, we saw you yesterday and you asked the same thing. What the hell do you even need in there?"

It would appear that Yoshii was not in a mood to explain. He simply tipped his hat at them. "I'll just come back another time then," he stated with a tilt of his head. "You two have a nice day now."

"Okay," the soldier on the right said slowly. As the two watched the mysterious man in the hat and orange outfit turn around and walk back the way he came, they could not help but grow slightly creeped out by his odd actions. "You too."

* * *

><p>Inside the city administration building, a man with short black hair and brown eyes was standing in a large hallway. He wore a notable white suit. This man stood with a solemn expression on his face. He clearly was rather nervous today. A young woman stood to his right side. She wore a formal blue outfit. She had brown hair and brown eyes.<p>

The man in the suit was named Keigo Onishi while his assistant was named Michiko Hirota. The two were both equally nervous and trembling to an almost visible degree. While both of them were reserved in nature, what was about to happen still chilled them to their every last bone. They were about to meet the one and only, Victor Aben.

"This is ridiculous," Onishi muttered with impatience. "Why is it taking so long? Those soldiers already searched us. They said Mr. Aben was waiting in the lobby but they left to go get him fifteen minutes ago. It doesn't take fifteen minutes to take an elevator up here. This is starting to make me nervous."

"Sir," Michiko said flatly in a more quiet tone. "I would recommend calming down. Keep in mind that we did nothing illegal. We only reported the illegal happenings of our administration. We should be the last people who are worried right now."

"I understand that," Onishi informed. "But this is Mr. Aben we're dealing with. If he wants to, he can have everyone in this building killed. Then he could throw together a team of replacements before anyone even notices."

* * *

><p>Eriko was sitting face down at the same table she located last night. She fell asleep there for sometime, but for the majority of the night she was wide awake looking around to the people going about their lives. She only just now woke up and slowly lifted her head to see that the little food court she spent tonight in was rather busy today. It was working past breakfast time now. Most honest citizens would be grabbing a morning snack or even a full meal on their way to whatever occupation they attended each and every week day.<p>

Eriko looked towards a dark alley just on the other side of the courtyard from her where she noticed a group of soldiers watching over the people. Their presence ensured nobody would act unlawfully in anyway.

Eriko was quite impressed at the number of soldiers present in the city. There was at least one patrol team in every neighborhood at all times. However, it would appear that the number of guardsmen had raised dramatically since last night. She looked around to see even more guards were standing off in the background watching every action she and the other civilians did.

She could not help but wonder just why there was so much activity in one desert town. She obviously was unfamiliar with the history of Athena. This city was once home to Cyan's first and only revolutionary in history. The only person since the beginning of time who ever dared to attempt the impossible and overthrow Victor Aben. For some unexplainable reason, Aben has ruled over Cyan since history books could remember. He was only in his mid thirties when he stopped aging. It was around five hundred years ago when a man named Arthur Trotsky built up a revolutionary army of pseudo-communists to take over the planet.

Shockingly enough, even with the whole world working against him, Trotsky was able to claim the entire southern half of the region Athena was located in. For twelve long years Trotsky's Bolsheviks occupied this very desert before their little movement was finally put to a sudden and cataclysmic end. Aben's army defeated the Bolsheviks at long last. In fact after a twisted turn of events, Aben ended up shooting Trotsky himself. Trotsky and his Bolshevik army were pushed all the way back to Athena, the same place where Trotsky began his revolution. The same place he was born in. It was here on the outskirts of town, just near that old cliff side Eriko was driving on, Trotsky was killed.

Unfortunately for the people of Athena, the war did not end with the defeat of the Bolsheviks. Instead, Aben blamed the very citizens of this broken down town for Trotsky's rise to power. He blamed the men for fighting with the Bolsheviks and the women for supporting the communist soldiers. As a result, Aben was on the verge of having the entire population executed because he believed another revolution would take place here. Luckily, a young man who helped Aben kill Trotsky was able to dissuaded him from doing such a thing.

However, it still did not end there. The reason the city of Athena was halfway in ruin would be due to Aben denying the city its funds to rebuild after the war. Aben's soldiers shelled the city for nine straight weeks before Trotsky was killed. That would mean there was a lot of things that required repairs but as punishment, Aben refused to reconstruct any of it. Instead, he made the people of Athena and some of the neighboring cities to pay reparations for the revolution. Those costly debts would prevent the city from repairing itself even now, over five hundred years later.

The young blonde woman did know about the fabled man called Trotsky since he was such a historical figure, but she did not know she was standing in the infamous Athena at this very moment. Eriko became more curious about this place as she finally took notice into the rubble some of the surrounding buildings have been reduced to. Usually, the cities of Cyan were very well kept, this was quite striking to her.

She then turned to see someone sitting a few tables away from her. That person was a young man with black hair, grayish-blue eye, and wore a blue short sleeve shirt along with white pants. He sat there at his table alone. He looked straight down at the table he sat at without even acknowledging Eriko who was quite obviously staring at him at this point.

"Hmm," Eriko thought to herself as a light grin took form on her face. "He looks like he would know more about this place. And I'd like to figure out why there is such a high concentration of guardsmen in such an insignificant town."

With that in mind, Eriko stood up and walked over to the young man sitting by himself at that other table. She came to a stop just as she reached the table. She placed both of her hands on the chair which was positioned on the opposite side of the table from the young man. Eriko gave a friendly yet slightly deceitful smile seeing as how she was not a friendly person in the least, but she would pretend to be whenever she met someone new.

"Excuse me," she stated as she pulled the chair out and took a seat. "But my name is Eriko. Eriko Kaneda. I'm traveling through this city and I was wondering just where I was exactly. Why are all of these soldiers present as well?"

No answer came from the young lad. Eriko lifted a slightly annoyed eyebrow after waiting for her answer for far too long and decided to ask again. "Would you mind elaborating on my previous questions? I'm only curious."

"You're in the city of Athena," the young man explained quietly. He did not look up to Eriko but he was at least speaking now. "I don't know why so many soldiers are here though. There have been more and more coming since around a week ago. That's all I know."

Eriko found this little tidbit of information to be quite intriguing. She was quite amazed that she was in _the_ city of Athena. It was Trotsky's birth place just as much as it was his death bed. Now Eriko knew why

"Alright then," she said quietly. Her curiosity then shifted towards the young man she was speaking to. His odd behavior was capturing her interest, she would like to know a little bit more about him as well.

"What's your name then? You could at least tell me that since I'm already here."

"Ichise," the young man muttered without so much as making eye contact with the blonde haired woman.

Eriko leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs to further her relaxation. "Ichise? Well that is an interesting name. I don't believe I ever met anyone by that name, but then again I don't know too many people these days. So Ichise, could you possible point me in the direction I need to go. My compass broke not too long ago and I haven't been able to find a new one. I'm trying to go north."

Ichise silently pointed off in the direction behind Eriko. She glanced over her shoulder before returning her attention to her new little friend. It was very rare when she had the opportunity to speak with someone other than herself. Every time she was able to, she would never be able to boast about her home since she had none to speak of. Instead, Eriko will always brag about where she is headed.

"I see," she said calmly and shut her eyes in satisfaction with his cooperation. "Thank you for the assistance. I'll be leaving tomorrow, and do you know where I'll be heading," she asked as her smile shifted into a more cocky grin.

Ichise naturally did not answer since he was such a quiet person to begin with. He would obviously not respond to someone's obvious boasting.

Eriko opened one eye at Ichise to see if he was even still sitting at the table with her. It almost sounded as he left due to the silence around her but surely enough, he was still sitting there. "I've been traveling to Norway if you would believe that," she claimed.

Normally, Ichise would be anything but interested in where some stranger was headed but when he heard the term Norway, he immediate looked up at Eriko. Norway was the legendary place in which the Aryans lived. A walled off part of each continent in Cyan where the Aryans were granted both their homes and their entire society.

Norway was a unified country as the political maps of Cyan would declare, even if it was broken off into little peaces on each continent. Norway always lied at the northern most point of whatever continent in question. Norway was also always walled off to keep the Aryans inside their utopian enclaves, and humanity outside in the 'almost' utopian world.

"Are you an Aryan," Ichise finally asked. This was the only way anybody would be getting inside Norway. Eriko certainly looked like an Aryan, and to Ichise who only knew her for about five five minutes, she seemed to act like an Aryan as well. She was polite so far, and smiled, even if the smile was not as bright as a perfect person would have.

Eriko giggled at Ichise's accusation. "If I was an Aryan," she explained comically. "I don't think I would end up in the most hated city on the planet. No offense but it really is true."

Ichise lowered his head once more, losing interest into what Eriko was going on about at this point. He figured she would have left after she got her information but this was not the case. Since it was rare for Eriko to socialize, she wanted to draw this conversation out as long as possible just to find some enjoyment before she struck out on her own once again to the unforgiving countryside of Cyan. She then began talking and talking. She told story after story to the most uninterested man on the planet. Time would not fly quickly for Ichise today.

* * *

><p>Victor Aben was an average sized man. He was slim, tall, he had vivid green eyes, black hair, and rather pale skin for some reason. Victor also wore a deep blue suit. He often always wore a fashionable suit or even military uniform. Aben's flashy sense of fashion was one of the many things he was known for. The reason he was so pale was probably thanks to him spending the majority of his time in his office rather than outside in the sun. He was such a busy man, but then again, he was the supreme ruler of an entire planet. This is what should be expected.<p>

He walked through the main hall of the administration building which housed all of the political happenings for the city of Athena. A group of soldiers walked with him for protection. He soon came to a stop in front of a man in a white suit, and a woman in a blue suit. The two had been waiting on him for around half an hour. Victor always hated it when his guards made him late for 'meetings.'

They kept him in the lobby until the searched out every nook and cranny in this building for anything at all that might prove dangerous to their leader. This naturally took a long time, but they at least assured themselves that everything was safe and sound. The only place they have not checked yet would be in the main meeting hall which was where Victor and his guards were headed now.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Aben said flatly as he placed his arms into his suit pocket and looked straight into Onishi's eyes. Having such an upfront encounter with the supreme dictator of Cyan was rather terrifying even for someone like Onishi.

"But I'm guessing you're Keigo Onishi," Aben continued. "You must be the one who called me, right?"

"No problem at all," Onishi responded as politely as possible. He could already tell Aben was upset with having to come back to this infamous city that he loathed so deeply. The last thing Onishi would want to do, is say something in the wrong way that would cause Aben's anger to direct itself at him. "We weren't waiting for too long," Onishi continued. He gave a light bow before suddenly remembering that Aben came from up north. In the north it was customary to shake hands rather than bow. He promptly held his hand out and Victor shook it quietly before the two broke the hand shake apart.

Onishi then pointed towards his assistant. "This is my receptionist, Michiko Hirota. She was actually the one who called your internal intelligence office to report this crime which has us both concerned. I'm only glad you came on such short notice."

"Well, this whole thing pisses me off," Aben stated as he gave a thankful nod to Michiko who silently returned the nod.

"To think that the city administrators would be raising taxes without my fucking permission," Aben hissed as if he were about to shift into a bloodthirsty rage, yet he did not yell, he simply whispered his angry words.

Onishi was not expecting the sudden use of such vulgar words from the same man who always waved at cheering crowds and kissed babies on television. Victor never seemed like the informal or even the angry type but then again, Onishi had never actually met Aben until now.

Michiko glanced to Onishi who in turn shrugged at her before he made his reply. "I understand how angry you must be. From what I've been able to gather, the other administrators had the aims of milking as much money from the people as they could before you caught wind of it. They set everything up to have guards and reporters be payed off for several years before they finally would flee the city with all the money they made."

"That shit is fucking disgusting," Aben growled before he suddenly remembered Michiko was standing there. "Ah, I'm sorry," Aben stated and Michiko lightly bowed to him. Aben never really appreciated swearing in front of a woman, but every once and awhile he would forget that little rule of dignity for a brief moment.

"Anyway," he continued to get back on track as he shifted his attention back to Onishi. "I'm so glad we still have loyal people left in this department. Believe me, I have a surprise for you two, but first my friends and I have to deal with this little batch of bad apples."

* * *

><p>Two young men were sitting near on a roof towards the west end of the city. They were sitting against a waist-high cement wall that guarded people from falling over the edge of the roof. The first young man wore a navy blue outfit. He had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. His name was Shinji.<p>

Shinji's friend wore average pants, a vest and an orange shirt. He also had light brown hair done up in an afro. His name was Hal. These two were the closest of friends. They were both the top ranking members of a minor street gang which was known for holding anarchist ideals. That gang was called the Rakan. They always kept to themselves seeing as how if they were to ever be discovered by Aben's men, they would all be rounded up and killed.

Shinji was indeed an anarchist along with all of his comrades. Unlike Kano, Shinji flat out did not like Aben. He hated the regime as well. Shinji was of the firm ideology that ever soul on the planet was of a free will which should be complemented by a free government, or a lack of government as he would prefer. Of course, Shinji and the other members of the Rakan were blind to how Cyan truly operated. Aben was in control for a reason. It was by him and his people that order was kept in an otherwise orderless Cyan. There was also a reason why Shinji's ideals were completely ignored by the city of Athena. Not only did the civilians not want to invoke the wrath of Aben for a second time, but they also admired Aben as their one true leader. Shinji would never understand why this was the case.

"You know," Hal began deviously. "I hear they've stepped up the amount of troops that will be stationed here. Maybe that has something to do with a recent thing the city officials did. I hear they pissed off Aben pretty good. In fact, I'm pretty sure Aben's in the city right now. He just hasn't announced it yet."

"And where exactly did you hear all of that from," Shinji questioned while his eyes remained closed in a relaxed manner.

"Oh," Hal responded with a prideful grin. "A little birdie told me."

* * *

><p>Several men in various colored suits were sitting around a long round table. They were the administrators of the city. Or at this point, they were technically the <em>former<em> administrators of Athena. However, they did not know they were official fired yet.

They sat their joking amongst each other. Two guardsmen stood in either corner of the room. They kept glancing at each other nervously because they knew just who would be walking thought that large pair of wooden doors at any moment.

"I'm getting worried about Keigo," one of the men stated at the farthest end of the table from the double doors. "He hasn't taken a single scent after we raised everyone's paycheck."

"Who cares," another man asked. "That's more for us."

"No, that's not it," the first man retorted. "Why would he not take that money in the first place? I'm worried that he might be reporting our..."

"Don't even worry about it," a third man interjected dismissively. "By the time that Neanderthal Aben figures out what's going on, we'll be long gone."

Several people at the table began laughing. Just as they did, the dual doors open and in stepped the very man in question. The supreme ruler of Cyan himself and by the look on his face, and by the looks of the guards with him, he was not a happy man. Unfortunately for the men at the table, everyone thought it was merely Onishi walking in and continued laughing.

"Ha fucking ha," Aben practically yelled as he came to a stop just behind one man who was sitting at the table. Everyone stopped and turned. Several horrified gasps could be heard from the group of onlookers.

Aben then looked down towards the middle aged man sitting in the seat just in front of him. "You're in my spot," Aben informed darkly before he abruptly snapped his fingers. One of the guards walked up from behind Aben and kicked the man in the head, which sent him falling to the ground. Two other guards dragged him away from the chair, allowing their leader to take his rightful spot in front of the local administration of Athena.

Everyone remained perfectly silent except for the pained groans coming from the man who was just kicked in the face. He tried to stand up but one of the soldiers stomped on him. This action naturally sent him to the ground with a thud.

Eventually, Aben grew annoyed with the man's constant groaning as he tried to collect himself from being kicked by a metal boot. "Shut the fuck up," Aben exclaimed which caused the rest of the men at the table to flinch.

"If there's one thing I hate more than traitors," Aben explained. "It's a groan man that moans like a bitch. Now keep your fucking mouth shut unless you want to die early."

That little threat was all the man needed to stay on the ground and keep himself quiet. Now that Aben was able to concentrate on the real problem at hand his scold turned to everyone else who was sitting around him.

"So I walked in when you puss-bags were laughing," Aben muttered. "Do you mind telling me what was so funny?"

Nobody said a word. Nobody was willing to say anything for fear of what Aben might do to them. They were especially intimidated after what happened to their friend lying on the floor at Aben's feet.

"Oh, come on," Aben pleaded with obvious sarcasm. "I'm a big fan of jokes, aren't I," he asked as he turned to one of the guards. The soldier quietly nodded while scolding the men at the table who he knew were about to be brutally executed.

"Well, I mother fucking know that you old perverts were laughing at something so I'm going to take a wild stab in the dark and guess that it has something to do with the money you've been stealing from the people of this city. I've already been to Athena once, long before you dumb asses were even thought of. Let me tell you, I did not want to come back to this place but apparently Athena just needs me here. Now that I am here, I'm going to make sure this isn't a wasted trip. From the looks of things, I see about six problems that need fixing right here and now. Am I right?"

It was no secret. Nobody at the table believed for one second that they would be let off with a warning or merely fired. Everyone in that room knew what was about to happen. They were about to be killed for making a fool out of Aben. It would not be a merciful death either.

* * *

><p>Several hours later and the sun was beginning to set on the horizon which gave everything a bright orange hue due to the sun's lighting being complemented by the orange sand dunes that surrounded the city of Athena.<p>

Surprisingly, Eriko and Ichise were still speaking all these hours later. Technically, Eriko was the only one speaking, Ichise was just listening. Although, it was unclear if he was actually listening to her, but he had not left yet which would indicate that he was possibly halfway interested in Eriko's stories about her time traveling across Cyan. The only thing she has not told Ichise is why she was doing all of this traveling. In fact, there were several times in which Ichise had broken his own 'code of silence' just to ask why, but she would simply dance around the question. It did not take Ichise very long to see Eriko's more manipulative qualities when she did danced her way past the only question Ichise had asked all day.

"Well, I had fun today," Eriko suddenly concluded which caused Ichise to lift his head up from the make shift pillow he made out of his arms. Was it finally over? Was this young woman finally going to get out of Ichise's hair?

Eriko noticed that Ichise was about to stand up and walk away. She immediately stopped him before he was even able to stand. "Wait," she requested in her usual reserve manner. "I have a proposition for you Ichise," she stated. Ichise lowered himself back into his seat and relaxed himself, allowing Eriko to continue.

"I can probably guess that your life here is rather pathetic," Eriko elaborated coldly. "I can imagine that each day is a struggle for your survival. This city lays and waits for its eventual demise along with its inhabitants who so blindly do the same. You also know Cyan for what it really is. You're perfectly aware of how insane this world is, just like I am."

Even though Ichise never hinted at being 'lucid' like Eriko, the blonde woman could see this right off the bat just by watching Ichise's behavior. His silence gave him away.

"I know you cannot be having a fun time here," Eriko continued. "So why don't you come along to Norway with me? You seem like leaving this old dump might do you some good. Do you not agree?"

"No," Ichise muttered and fully stood up.

Eriko was _almost_ shocked by his reply. This would not be the first time she asked someone to accompany her on her journey to paradise. There have been exactly four times over the years in which she met a man she would not mind tagging along with her. They all turned her down, mostly because they had no reason to leave their home towns. Ichise on the other hand, had all the reason in the world to go to Norway. He was lucid to the world just as she was. He knew how insane Cyan truly could be the majority of the time, yet he still did not want to leave. At this point, Eriko was becoming frustrated with constant rejection.

"You're being ridiculous," Eriko argued and abruptly stood up. "Why don't you come with me? What's keeping you here in this wasteland? This city is the armpit of Cyan. It's useless. Come to a better world. Come to Norway. I can firmly promise that you wont regret it."

Ichise narrowed his eyes at Eriko cynically. "How the hell do you plan to get beyond those walls? You already said you weren't an Aryan. I'm not either. So why are you even wasting your time? Even if you do make it to Norway all the way from here, the gate keepers would just shoot you when you ask to gain entrance."

"Because I look like an Aryan," Eriko argued. "I can probably pass for one. I can even help you. If we could just dye your hair you could also pass for an Aryan. We would just have to act as innocent as possible. It would be so easy."

"No," Ichise stated quietly yet firmly. "I'm not getting involved. If you want to try and get into Norway then go ahead. Just leave me alone."

With that said Ichise turned away and began walking off. Eriko clenched her hands into fists with frustration. "Wait," she called out once more which naturally caused Ichise to stop in his tracks. "This is your only chance to get out of this miserable desert," the blonde woman elaborated.

"If you want to go to a better place. A place I promise you will enter, then you come with me. I'll be leaving tomorrow at exactly 11:00 sharp." She then gave him the address of where she parked her car in a small rundown neighborhood towards the outskirts of the city.

"You have until then to make your decision, if not, then I'll leave and I won't be returning to this pitiful place."

Ichise glanced over his shoulder but resumed his walk right after Eriko finished her monologue. "Goodbye Doc," he murmured and walked off. He stopped calling her by her name shortly after the two met. He called her 'Doc' several times already because her thick English accent and expansive vocabulary made her sound rather intelligent. That, and her two hour lecture on several types of medicine helped Ichise create that little nickname for her.

Eriko formulated a confident yet devilish grin on her face as she watched Ichise wonder off. "Doc eh? Is that my new name? I like it. I'll see you _tomorrow_ Ichise."


	3. Oddball

**Oddball**

That night, Ichise returned to his small apartment on the top floor of the complex he lived in. He was currently lying upside down on his sofa. There was an average sized coffee table positioned in between him, and the television which was visible on the opposite side of the room.

The television was currently switched on. He was watching a propaganda movie about Aben being Cyan's hero which was pretty much the subject of every movie produced here on this bitter planet. The movie ended about ten minutes ago and the tape was now merely feeding static into the screen.

Surprisingly, he had not even realized the movie ended. He stared at the television screen, but he was paying zero attention to it. For some reason, he could not get Doc nor her offer out of his mind. He was watching a large battalion of Aben's soldiers goose stepping up and down the neighborhood he resided in not but an hour ago. There were always soldiers around to keep the peace but he saw a lot of soldiers, as if it were suppose to be some sort of celebration. Ichise had to admit that this was beginning to not sit well with him. Why was Aben sending so many men to keep watch over Athena?

Ichise knew something must be happening outside. He has not heard anyone giving speeches on the matter. Perhaps they are hoping the people of Athena will fail to notice the increased number of patrols in the city.

It was all of these things combined that led to Ichise wondering if maybe leaving his little home town would be more preferable. Eriko was quite a weird and slightly shady figure in Ichise's eyes. He even found her a little bit creepy, but if something cataclysmic was about to happen here, he would want to be as far away from it as possible. Ichise knew all too well that Aben did not like him or his fellow citizens of Athena. He knew that if Aben was to make a return to Athena, it would not be a pretty sight at all.

Ichise snapped back to reality, realizing the television was now on a dead channel as soon as he heard the sound of screaming coming from the static and white noise the television produced. He sat up and quickly took notice into an odd image now displaying itself on the screen. The image depicted an eye blinking at Ichise from within the static.

He continued to watch this odd event unfold and surely enough, the next thing he noticed was a human mouth on the screen which ended up replacing the eye. It was visibly screaming, but not too terribly loud since the white noise muted most of it.

Ichise kept watching the television, but his focus on it was suddenly interrupted by an unexpected knock on the front door. Ichise quickly came to and reached for the remote. He aimed it at the television and switched it off. Ichise then stood up and turned to face the door. He calmly approached it, not having the slightest clue who it could be. He then reached for the doorknob and pulled it open. Surprisingly, Ichise saw two soldiers standing in the hall.

Both of these soldiers stood armed with the ceremonial spears they often carried, however Ichise also spotted rifles strapped to their backs. Usually, when the soldiers were carrying the spears, it did not mean they were planning to do anything dangerous. However, the only time Ichise has ever heard of troops showing up to someone's house was when they were arresting them for suspecting them of being involved with 'revolutionary acts'.

In fact, it was odd to even see soldiers here. Usually there was always one military regiment stationed in each city. They worked with local law enforcement to keep the peace and if need be, they would engage with enemies of the state. Ichise was not intimidated by seeing the soldiers at his door because he knew all too well that he was not a revolutionary. Ichise was far too smart to get on Aben's bad side to begin with. The only other reason they would be around is if they were doing some sort of government survey or taking the annual census.

"Can I help you," Ichise asked politely. His mother always taught him that cooperation was the best course of action to take when finding yourself in a situation regarding the Republic. Naturally, Ichise remained calm and cooperative. Then again, there was no reason for him not to act out of the ordinary.

"We apologize for the disturbance, citizen," the soldier on the right explained. "But we need to check all the windows on this side of your apartment complex. So if you could step aside and let us see what sort of view you have then Mr. Aben would be most grateful."

Ichise was rather shocked to hear Aben's name be brought up. Did an order such as this actually relate to Aben? In reality, everything the regime did had some relations to the one and only Victor Aben, but Ichise was still surprised and slightly impressed to hear them use his name. This was actually beginning to make sense to Ichise. With the increased number of soldiers in Athena along with them inspecting the view of Ichise's apartment might actually indicate that Aben himself was visiting the city of Athena. It was routine for the soldiers to secure the area surrounding the administration building in case an important government official would be present in that area. They only wanted to make sure that there was no chance of assassination.

Obviously, Ichise had no qualms with them checking his windows. Of course if he did that would make the situation far more suspicious than it needed to be which would in turn result in the soldiers checking the windows along with his entire apartment.

"No problem," he stated and stepped aside, allowing the two soldiers to enter the apartment. Ichise leaned out of his doorway and peered down into the hall after the soldiers entered his apartment. Sure enough, everyone else was being searched as well. This was definitely odd, but it was not a completely unreasonable state of affairs.

It would not be too long before the soldiers backed away from the two windows Ichise had in his apartment. They then proceeded to turn around and walk straight out the door. "Sorry again for the inconvenience," one of the soldiers stated as he walked past Ichise. The other soldier tipped his helmet as he left. "Everything is as it seems, have a good night civilian," the soldier concluded and with that, they left his apartment completely.

Ichise promptly shut the door behind them and shoved his hands in his pockets. He then returned to his seat on the couch and stared at the blank television screen. Now that this little event was out of the way, Ichise could finally return to the more oppressing topic at hand. Should he go with Doc to Norway. If anything, it would at least be a new place to see, not to mention all the different parts of the continent that Ichise would see on his way to Norway. Athena was actually very far south on this continent. It was close to the equator of Cyan which would definitely be demonstrated by the desert climate it was located in. Naturally, Ichise would like a change of scenery. However, he was too smart to think for one second that he would actually be able to enter Norway. Yet he still would not complain about leaving Athena for awhile.

* * *

><p>The next day would come rather quickly. Kano had fallen asleep last night on the abandoned beach he spent so much time on. Thankfully, he woke up before the sun could begin the process of burning his skin. Kano sat up and began dusting the sand off of his robes. He looked down to see his manifesto was laying on his torso. Luckily, sand had not gotten on the pages.<p>

Kano would have lied back down for a few moments, but he quickly remembered something. "That's right," he told himself calmly and in that usual reserved nature of his. "I was suppose to meet Zashi this morning. I wonder if he's still waiting on me by any chance."

Kano then turned around and looked up to the seawall about fifty yards away from him. There on top of the protective stone wall was what appeared to be a teenage boy wearing gray and white robes along with an odd hat on his head that covered his eyes. This was indeed Kano's friend Zashi. He stood their on the seawall behind a metal fence.

"Ah, there you are," Kano greeted. Zashi merely waved him down which caused Kano to close his Manifesto and tuck it away in his robes. He then stood up and walked off towards his long time comrade who was still faithfully waiting for him. Kano made his way across the beach and walked over to a nearby staircase where he proceeded to climb up the seawall. He then approached Zashi silently.

The blue haired individual was surprised to see that his blind friend did not come here alone. Kano expected that Zashi was going to walk to the beach and the two would return to a nearby town where they would find a way to travel to the city they both desired to see. That city was Athena. However, Zashi seemed to have met some new friends on his way over here. A roofless black car was parked just behind Zashi which was occupied by several young ladies. One of which was in the driver's seat while another sitting in the passenger's seat. The third sat in the middle of the back seat. All three of them were smiling and waving to the stranger with such oddly colored hair.

Kano returned the smile and waved at them before he shifted his eyes back to Zashi. "Well, who are your new friends," Kano questioned with interest. He was most certainly not expecting Zashi to randomly meet a group of strange girls. This was odd in of itself. Usually Kano was the only person Zashi ever spoke to. The only reason he could think of was that Zashi found out they were also heading to that small town and were willing to drive he and Kano there.

"I met these kind ladies back in town," Zashi informed. "Believe it or not Kano but they too are headed for Athena. They invited us to come along with them. I requested that was stop here first obviously." Zashi spoke in a formal and emotionless tone. His youthful voice only highlighted his young age.

Kano glanced back to the women who were watching him in the background. He gave them a friendly nod. "Alright then," he said loudly to allow the ladies in the car to hear him as well. "Shall we be off then?"

* * *

><p>Yoshii was walking along that same road to the exact same building he had attempted to visit for the past two days. Now, it was safe to say that this was becoming suspicious. Luckily Yoshii arrived to the building when a different pair of guards were on duty. As Yoshii walked up to them he placed his hand on the right left strap of his back and grinned at them in an odd manner.<p>

He tipped his hat to the guards and came to a stop just in front of them. Yoshii glanced to both of the guards and immediately realized that they were not the same two guards he had met the last couple of times he had attempted to get past this secured point. Yoshii released the left shoulder strap of his backpack and placed his hands behind his back innocently.

The soldiers glanced at each other and looked back to the cheerful man with the mustache. Even though they were not the guards who had encountered this man twice, they had already been warned about him by the other soldiers who were now familiar with his face.

"Excuse me," Yoshii asked pleasantly and gave an unreadable smile to them. "I'm sorry to cause disturbance and I know this place is under a temporary investigation, but I lost an item in that building and I need to retrieve it. I won't be too long I promise. Once I get the object I lost I'll be on my way."

"Sorry," the soldier on the right replied sternly. "But no civilian activity is allowed beyond this point. You will have to come back again at another time. We expect to relinquish control of this area by the 13th of this month. You can retrieve your belongings then."

Yoshii did not seem amused by the rather reasonable and realistic advice. Instead Yoshii became inpatient with the whole situation. He slightly turned the left and shot a more devious glare at the guardsmen. "I will only request once more. Please allow this one exception. I'll retrieve my belongings and leave with them today."

"Negative," the soldier argued calmly. "If you continue to cause trouble you will be arrested for disturbing the peace and resisting military orders."

"But I'm not military," Yoshii reminded.

"_We_ are military," the other soldier interjected. "And _we_ are ordering you, a civilian of Cyan, to step back."

Yoshii grinned and abruptly reached with his right hand over his shoulder and into an unzipped portion of his backpack. At an unexpected moment, Yoshii whipped out a small submachine gun and opened fired. Several bullets hit the soldier on the right in the neck chest and shoulder while two bullets hit the soldier on the left directly in the forehead. The two guardsmen then promptly collapsed on the ground at Yoshii's feet.

* * *

><p>While this madness was happening in a more secluded area of Athena, Doc was leaning against her vehicle at the same address she told Ichise to meet her at. This part of Athena was located on a hill and it was one of the only ways up the large cliff side and into the sand filled desert that surrounds the city.<p>

After a few moments, Eriko let out a sigh and looked down. She raised her right arm and looked to the watch on her wrist. The time read 10:59AM. It would appear that Ichise would not show up at all. This was a very disappointing thing since she would now have to travel to Norway all by her lonesome self.

With a disappointed frown which use to be a cocky smile about two seconds ago, Eriko stood upright off of her car and was about to walk around to the driver's side when she spotted someone walking towards her from the distance out of the corner of her eye. Down the road a little ways was a young man with black hair and an odd shade of blue eyes. Eriko smiled once again in a more devilish manner. She then crossed her arms and leaned back against the car as she watched Ichise walk up to her. Eriko quickly took notice into a travel bag Ichise was carrying in his left hand.

"Well," Eriko announced in a confident manner. Ichise came to a stop in front of her but did not look at her. His facial expressions were completely unreadable, he was a very mute person after all. Eriko tilted her head curiously but decided she did not care about his opinion on the matter. He was here so he must not be completely opposed to the idea of traveling to Norway. "I suppose we should leave now," Doc continued while Ichise remained silent.

* * *

><p>Zashi and Kano were sitting in the back seat of the car that was currently taking them to Athena. They drove along a narrow path through the sand dunes to reach their destination. The ladies who owned the car were loudly talking and joking amongst themselves while Zashi and Kano remained perfectly quiet. Zashi sat on the left side of the backseat facing the desert which was rolling by, and Kano was sitting on the right side while he too watched the desert landscape surrounding them.<p>

While they were busy doing nothing, the lady in the backseat who sat in between the two. She glanced to Zashi with bored eyes. This young lady specifically had dark brown hair and brown eyes. She watched Zashi as his head was turned away towards the horizon. The woman sighed and turned to see what Kano was doing. Of course, to much of her disappointment he was doing the exact same thing. These two seemed incredibly boring to her.

After a few moments of sitting there silently while her friends in the front of the car were laughing at each other's jokes. It would not take too long before buildings began rolling by and they soon found themselves driving through a large yet old worn down city named Athena. It was at this point that the woman finally broke down and decided to spark some conversation with Kano and Zashi.

"So, what are you two coming here for if you don't mind me asking," the woman questioned just to break the silence. Zashi did not so much as open his mouth but he did turn and look towards her and Kano suspiciously. Kano on the other hand adopted a small and slightly dishonest smile. He looked down to his lap where his manifesto was sitting but he did not make eye contact with the woman next to him.

"Zashi and I are merely traveling here to see the famous city of Athena. Nothing more," Kano lied. In reality, the two had much darker business here, but there was no way Kano would ever tell a stranger that. Zashi then turned away and pretended to look out towards the cityscape which he technically could not see at all. He seemed satisfied with Kano's answer. He, just like his comrade, did not want to draw unnecessary attention to their little agenda.

"Oh," the woman replied and narrowed her eyes in frustration. She then sat back in her seat and decided it would be better to give up. She obviously was not getting anywhere with either of them and the two did not seem to be the 'social butterfly' type.

* * *

><p>Doc was driving her car through a completely different portion of the desert from where Kano and Zashi were. Those to were on the south side of Athena while Ichise and Doc had left Athena a long time ago. They were currently traveling north which was the direction of Norway. It was also the quickest way out of the largest desert in Cyan.<p>

While Doc never understood why this was the case and Ichise had no clue either, but this desert was surprisingly cool during the day. Indeed, there was sand everywhere and the sun burnt the ground to a more unreasonable degree but for the past twenty years, the desert had grown cool. Not even cactus grew in this sandpit, but for some reason or another it was of a nice 70 degree temperature year round here.

Eriko glanced over to Ichise who was casually sitting in the passenger's seat. Something seemed to have caught his eye because Ichise was watching the sky as if it were about to disappear. "What do you see," she asked out of curiosity.

"Doc, look up," Ichise replied and pointed to the blue sky above. Eriko looked forward to make sure there was nothing coming for her that might cause her to wreck. Of course there was not an obstruction in the road nor a car insight. In fact, Doc found it rather strange when she saw someone else on a road this far out in the countryside since the majority of the world population stayed within city limits. The only people who had any business outside of the cities would be Aben's military who often did patrols and other such militaristic activities in the Outer Reaches as it was commonly referred to.

While Doc did see a small figure out of the corner of her eyes a good distance down the road, she did not pay enough attention to it. Curiosity overwhelmed her which caused her to lean out of her window which had already been rolled down. She poked her head out and looked up. Oddly enough, Doc immediately spotted what had Ichise so distracted. There in the sky for no reason what so ever was a considerable number of gigantic jellyfish floating across the sky.

She enjoyed seeing the enormous flying jellyfish. They were a common thing to see in the desert skies of Cyan. They moved in a flock of some sort and they were headed west which was the exact way the wind was blowing. Jellyfish had no minds of their own so they simply followed the wind blindly to their next destination, wherever that be.

Doc continued to watch the jellyfish, completely forgetting that she should probably be watching the road even if it was a straight line, and there was nothing to worry about hitting. Ichise on the other hand became bored with the slow moving jellyfish, and looked straight ahead to see what lied in front of them on this narrow path to paradise. He quickly widened his eyes and even though it was very light, Ichise probably displayed more emotion in his face than he ever had in his entire life. "Doc," he stated firmly which grasped the blonde woman's attention quite easily. "_Stop the car._"

Eriko turned to see what he was referring to. She instantly moved her head back inside the car and slammed on the breaks as soon as she took notice in a young teenage girl who was walking alone on the deserted road. This girl wore a thick maroon coat and had red hair done up in pig tails. This girl also had a little mask strapped on her back, and carried a basket in her right hand. Eriko was luckily able to stop the car just before it rammed this young girl. This strange girl was currently walking away from the car but she came to a calm halt, and turned around in a very nonchalant manner. She had a flat and detached expression on her face. Her turning herself around also revealed her stern and emotionless amber eyes.

Ichise let out a relieved sigh as he realized that they did not smear an innocent girl along the road today. That would prove to make this first day on the road a very unpleasant one. That, and of course if the governing forces were to ever find out he and Doc would be hanged without questioned in a public area somewhere.

Doc's hands were shaking on the steering wheel. She slowly looked to Ichise who in turn kept his eyes on the girl standing in the road. She was speechless at first but then became frustrated with the whole situation. She quickly turned and threw her car door open.

"Are you insane," Eriko asked in a harsh tone. The little girl did not react, she simply stared at the blonde woman as if she was some sort of void. "What are you doing out here walking around in the middle of the road? I could have killed you."

The girl did not say anything at first. After a few seconds of Doc staring her down, the girl finally decided to make a reply. She raised her basket with one arm. "Would you like to buy some flowers," she asked in a quiet and very calming tone of voice.

* * *

><p>The car Zashi and Kano were riding in came to a stop in the middle of the downtown plaza of Athena. It was a very notable place in the city. There was a large bronze statue of Victor Aben who stood in a victorious pose while several Bolshevist flags laid at his feet. The city was filled with propaganda such as this. While every city in Cyan had its own propaganda such as commercials, promotional rallies, posters, etc.; Athena was known for having a large amount of propaganda. This was mostly due to Aben not trusting the citizens of this town and as a result, he wanted to do whatever it took to keep another revolution from happening.<p>

"Well then," the lady in the passenger's seat announced and turned around to watch as Zashi and Kano were opening their doors to finally leave the car. "Are you two off so soon? We were going to a restaurant for lunch if you wanted to come along."

Zashi remained silent and allowed Kano to do the speaking. Kano quietly smiled and gave a thankful nod to the lady offering him to come and have lunch with her and her friends. Unfortunately, Kano did not want to partake in this, Zashi especially did not want to. They both had much to do. They had to get settled in to the city. The same town where they would spread their ideals about advancing human society. The two had no time to indulge in such offers.

"I'm sorry," Kano replied in a friendly manner. "We appreciate you giving us a ride here but we should really be on our way. There is much for us to do. Good luck to all of you in whatever you hope to do here, for us however, we should be off now. Goodbye."

With that said, Kano turned and walked away from the car. Zashi turned around and shut his door. He would have left immediately to follow Kano to whatever location they were planning on going, however, Zashi stopped himself. He looked to the ground but his delayed leaving caused the woman in the back seat to turn to him.

"You should leave," Zashi muttered. "You have been of great help for us. That is why I offer you this advice. Leave Athena now and never look back." Before the woman could say a word to the blind young boy, he suddenly walked away to go and catch up with his long time Kano. The woman in the backseat watched him leave with a blank stare. That was quite the creepy thing to say to someone after they just arrived in a city. Whether or not these women would take Zashi's advice or not, only time would tell.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Eriko and the young girl with red hair were staring each other down. Doc approached the girl and was now standing a few feet away from her with her arms crossed in a firm manner. The young girl placed the basket to Eriko's feet with hopes that she may buy one of the flowers, but Doc was not too interested in the plants. Ichise was standing in the background. He leaned against the car while he kept an eye on the both of them.<p>

"What's your name," Doc questioned sternly.

"Ran," the girl stated flatly while not being fazed slightly by Doc's firm tone of voice. She clearly was not intimidated by the blonde woman even though she nearly ran her over with the car. Ran appeared to not even care that she was almost killed. She seemed to not be too terribly interested in the whole ordeal.

"And what in the world are you doing all the way out here in the desert," Doc inquired further. She was growing more curious about Ran more than anything. Of course, Doc could careless if the poor girl was stranded and dying of thirst. She was only concerned with being hanged for killing some random pedestrian. This type of conceited personality only made itself perfectly clear through Doc's actions and choice of words. Ran already picked up on this personality and was visibly not thrilled that Doc was still speaking to her.

Ran looked around to the sand dunes that surrounded them. She then glanced down to the basket of flowers on the ground and looked back up to Eriko. She figured that this would be quite obvious but apparently this angry blonde lady was not understanding why she was wondering around out here. "I'm selling flowers," Ran informed.

Eriko narrowed her eyes at Ran. She clearly was unconvinced. "You're selling flowers? In the middle of the desert?"

After a few moments of silence, a response from the redheaded girl finally came. "Yes."

"Whatever," Eriko sighed and turned away from Ran. "Just watch where you walk next time. Who knows, someone might actually hit you one of these days." With that, Doc simply walked back to the car.

Ichise watched as she walked away from Ran. Was she actually about to leave this young girl out here in the desert alone where she would undoubtedly die of exposure rather quickly. It might be cooler in the desert than it use to, but that still did not mean the desert or even Cyan itself did not have its own creative ways to kill someone in a brutal way.

As Eriko approached the driver's side she was about to say something, probably telling Ichise to get back in the car but he spoke out before she could say anything. "Where are you going?"

Eriko lifted an eyebrow at Ichise out of confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You're not going to leave her out here."

Doc took a defensive step back before glancing back to Ran who was still standing there in the middle of the street. Ran was actually looking in the direction Doc previously stood when she was still speaking with her. Eriko shuttered at how weird this young girl was, and turned back to Ichise with a more frustrated look in her eyes.

"We're leaving, she'll be fine on her own. After all, she made it this far and there isn't another town for miles. Keep in mind Ichise that I invited you to travel to Norway with me. You and only you, now come on."

Ichise remained completely unconvinced by this. He simply ignored everything Doc had previously said and turned to look at Ran. "Hey kid," he stated in that same emotionless voice of his. Ran quietly turned to face Ichise. "Where are you headed," he questioned flatly.

"Nowhere," Ran replied.

This obviously meant that Ran was a drifter just like Eriko. She immediately reached that conclusion which caused the blonde woman to sigh in defeat. Ichise looked directly at her and while he was silent, his eyes clearly ordered her to invite Ran to come with them.

"Fine," Eriko muttered and glared at Ichise. "I'll give her a ride to the very next town, then we'll drop her off. Deal?"

Ichise seemed satisfied with this idea and silently opened his car door and took a seat inside. Eriko then returned her attention to the girl with the flowers who was still watching them from the distance as if she had nothing better to do.

"Pardon me Ran," Doc inquired. "But would you like to ride with to a nearby city?"


	4. Problems

_Note: To a anonymous reviewer who left some valid criticisms. I definitely thank you for pointing out that I was going into too much detail. Your review actually will be helping this story a lot. Basically, ever since I started this story I was worried about how long this thing would have to be. I originally intended for it to have 22 chapters total which would parallel to the 22 episodes of __Texhnolyze__. However, I wrote these first three chapters and I kept thinking, "how am I going to not only write about Kano's rise to power, on top of Doc, Ichise, and Ran's journey to Norway all in 22 chapters?"_

_You're right, I should cut down on description or else the story will progress so slowly it will take me forever to reach the end of this thing. Honestly, in the beginning I was only concerned with Ichise's dialogue. After all, the guy doesn't speak for the most part. That and he has no emotions. However, I completely forgot that most of the other characters don't speak in lengthy monologues. I'll be sure to cut down their dialogue as well because you are correct, they are for the most part sitting around, thinking about what they should be doing rather than doing whatever that is. Keep in mind though that I already wrote the first scene of this chapter before you left your review so it will be pretty descriptive, but the rest of the chapter will be more straightforward._

_Also, on another topic. Writing this particular chapter actually made me realize something. Whenever transhumanism is one of the driving plot points in any given media production, none of them (or the ones I know of) actually portray those artificial limbs to run on electricity like everything else. For instance in Texhnolyze, the obelisk seemed to be a type of WiFi tower which allows the arms and legs to operate. In everything else I've seen dealing with that topic, those limbs apparently run on magic. Did anyone else reach that conclusion?_

* * *

><p><span><strong>Problems<strong>

Michiko and Onishi were sitting in the empty meeting room of Athena's administration building. It was just a day ago when Aben barged into this very room and had almost everyone in the building escorted outside, and around to the backside of the building where he proceeded to have them killed via firing squads. In fact, other than Michiko, Onishi did not know a single person who survived Aben's purge.

Onishi obviously knew that some people would pushed severely for their crimes which is why he contacted Mr. Aben's lower administrators about the whole ordeal. He also knew that if Aben was to catch wind of this by himself at a much later date then those punishments would be much more severe. What he was not expecting was for Aben to walk in and literally have everyone killed. Aben even had the receptionists shot. Of course, Michiko already gained Aben's trust just as Onishi did seeing as how it was her who reported the illegal taxation under Onishi's orders. That would mean that Michiko and Onishi were the only ones left in the building besides Aben's men.

At the moment, the two sat there with nothing to do, but what and figure out why they have been called here. Aben requested they wait here until he finished whatever it was he was attempting to do. From there he would enter the meeting room and discuss whatever the topic of discussion was. Onishi had no idea but Michiko had a theory on what was going on.

There was only a few reasons the one and only Victor Aben would spare time to meet with two insignificant souls such as Onishi and Michiko. Either he had randomly decided to kill them off as well, or he was giving Onishi a promotion. Michiko believed the latter to be true. She had high hopes that Onishi would be given more authority after something of this nature would have happened. This was Michiko's primary goal for making sure that Onishi reported this illegal activity to the more important members of the regime. Onishi actually did not know the raising of taxes on the civilians of Athena was illegal at first. He just assumed the other administrators received permission to do this from Aben, even though Aben never raised taxes anywhere because there was simply no point in doing such a thing. Luckily, before Onishi actually got involved, Michiko being the outstanding assistant that she is warned him ahead of time and that would lead to this very moment.

Michiko looked down to the table as she heard a set of footsteps walking down the hallway just behind the closed double doors on the opposite side of the room. Michiko and Onishi sat on the far side of the table next to each other. "He's coming," Michiko muttered. Onishi glanced towards her as she said this. He was quite surprised that she knew he was on his way before Aben even walked into the room.

Before Onishi could say anything the two doors opened, and in stepped Victor Aben along with several of his guardsmen. Aben adopted a more friendly smile and waved to the duo at the table while his guards took positions around the room, completely surrounding Michiko and Onishi.

"Alright," Aben began and took a seat on the opposite side of the table. "I'm glad you two could make it here today. Now, I called you here because this city has a problem. That problem being those greedy old perverts that I just... _fired_. As you might have guessed, I really don't want to be hanging around here anymore. So, I need a few new trustworthy people that I know can properly govern a rather untrustworthy city."

Onishi glanced down before quickly forcing his eyes back up to meet Aben. "Please don't let this group of bad apples taint your opinion of my city. I assure you that the people here have the utmost respect for you and the Republic."

"My opinion of Athena was tainted 500 years ago when Trotsky tried to take over my kingdom," Aben retorted flatly. At the very thought of Trotsky, Aben's grin faded to a more serious tone but he quickly snapped himself out of those memories and returned his attention to the topic at hand.

"Look, that's neither here nor there," Aben said dismissively. "The problem is just as I said a not a moment ago is that I need new guys to run this place. Onishi, I want you to be head of Athena's administration department."

* * *

><p>Zashi and Kano were still roaming around in the streets of Athena. They were currently seeking out a group of people who already sympathized with Kano's cause. Of course it had been Zashi who met them. He was responsible for all of the contacts Kano now had in this city.<p>

The two quickly came to a stop in the middle of a busy intersection. As they waited for cars to pass and clear the way for them to walk to the other side of the street, Zashi could hear a few soldiers talking behind them. They were not saying anything that might prove useful, but constantly hearing soldiers was beginning to worry Zashi. He obviously could not see Aben's 'shining knights' but he could hear tactical chatter, the clicking of their metal suits as they walked nearby, and the occasional cavalry units that patrolled the streets.

"Kano," Zashi said quietly. Kano instinctively glanced over to Zashi.

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Zashi continued. "But from what I've heard during our walk. It would appear that there has been increasing military activity in this city."

"You would be correct on that assumption," Kano replied. "I noticed that myself a little while ago. I've seen no less than twelve soldiers patrolling each street. However, do not let that discourage you. We are here to help the Republic, not revolt against it."

"Sir, if you don't mind my input," Zashi insisted. "But the city of Athena already has a stigma to it. We should leave this town and travel to another place. Aben would probably be more keen to listening to us anywhere else but here."

"Aben will understand our cause," Kano retorted quietly. "There will be no problem at all."

* * *

><p>Eriko, Ichise, and Ran would soon arrive to the first city lying north from Athena. They came to stop in the middle of a deserted parking lot and were now standing outside the car looking for any sings of life.<p>

For some reason or another, there was nobody around. The city appeared to have been abandoned for a long time. The buildings were visibly decaying while grass and vines were growing in the streets. This was not the only time anyone had ever heard of a ghost town. Usually, people would grow bored of their home town, just like Ichise did. They would then leave and not return. This was usually how a city died. Of course, sometimes the populations would leave cities due to natural disasters, but here in the desert that surrounds Athena, most of the ghost towns are abandoned because they were utterly decimated during Trotsky's reign and were never repopulated.

"Hmm," Eriko began curiously as she looked up to the looming skyscrapers above. "This is a creepy little place. Regardless though," she then turned toward Ran and Ichise who were leaning against her car in a relaxed state.

"I forgot to grab a few things in Athena. That and since we have a new... _addition_," she said as she glanced to Ran with an unreadable look in her eyes. "I figure I'll grab some extra supplies. I'll return later."

With nothing left to say Doc turned back around and walked off down a side road.

Ichise and Ran watched her quietly as the distance between them grew more and more as she walked onwards. Ichise soon lost interest in what Eriko was doing. He then silently turned looked towards a building which was positioned to the left of Eriko and in front of Ichise. He would have turned away casually had he not spotted an odd glimmer of light in one of the windows on the fifth floor.

Ichise randomly uncrossed his arms and walked off in the direction of the building. He could see the front entrance to the complex which was wide open since the doors were completely missing for whatever reason. Ran watched him leave without moving, but after a few moments she too calmly followed him.

* * *

><p>It would take no time at all for Ichise and Ran to arrive at their destination. They walked through an old staircase since the elevators obviously would not work. Ichise turned the corner while holding onto a wooden guardrail. He then began walking up the fifth flight of steps. He soon stepped up to the desired floor and opened the rusty metal door labeled 'F-5.' Ran came to a stop just behind him.<p>

The door opened up with a loud creek and the two then proceeded forward. They entered the fifth floor which was nothing more than an open office area, or at least that was what it appeared to be. Several old desks were all pushed out of the way and some were even turned over. Ichise also spotted really old bullet casings and holes in the wall. This city must have been a battlefield during first, and so far the only revolution on Cyan, not counting Aben's rise to power.

Ichise felt Ran suddenly tug on his left sleeve. He looked down to her, and noticed that she was pointing off to a corner in the back of this main room. Ichise followed her finger with his eyes, and quickly spotted a figure sitting at one of the dusty old desks in that corner near a window. That figure was surprisingly a skeleton. This preformed skeleton sat there at the table with a black suit covering his body.

"Well," the skeleton began in a slightly depressed tone. He did not look at Ichise or Ran directly, but he knew they were present in the room. "I never thought anyone would come to see this place again. You must just be passing through."

"Where are all the people," Ichise asked flatly, getting right to the point as he always did.

"Either they ran away, or they died here," the skeleton began. "My boy, you are standing in the last battleground that took place between Aben's regime and Trotsky's Bolsheviks. Aben's soldiers raided this town, and defeated the last remaining Bolshevik forces several days before Trotsky was killed."

A thick silence crept over the room. Ichise waited to see if the old skeleton would continue with his little history lesson but it would appear that he had said all he was willing to say. Ichise had nothing other than that single curiosity of his that needed to be answered. He then simply walked off back towards the door. Ran would silently follow him, leaving that odd skeletal entity to continue reminiscing in whatever memories he may have of this ghostly town.

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes after Ichise and Ran returned from their little field trip, they soon spotted Eriko walking towards the car from down the road. She soon came to a stop right in front of the two. One thing Ichise noticed was that she was completely empty handed even though she said she was looking for supplies.<p>

"I didn't find anything," she informed. "I actually opened up a thing of canned food I found in an old grocery store, but the only thing that came out of it was dust. Everything else has already decayed. There's no point in sitting around here anymore. Let's go."

* * *

><p>The end of today would come rather quickly. Aben was now taking his leave after spending a couple of days in the city of Athena which he loathed, he was finally headed home. There was a helicopter landing pad behind the administration building. Onishi and Michiko were standing a good distance from the helicopter. They watched Aben as he headed towards the flying machine.<p>

When Aben was about halfway to the helicopter, a random soldier walked ran up to Onishi and handed him a slip of paper. "Mr. Onishi," the soldier stated in a slightly loud tone. Aben continued walking with a smile on his face, sure of himself that Onishi could handle whatever problem the soldier was reporting.

"Two guardsmen were murdered a few hours ago," the soldier stated which caused Onishi's eyes to widen in surprise. Michiko had the same expression on her face.

"They were found dead standing outside of a quarantined building at the southern end of the city."

Aben definitely over heard this and was most certainly not thrilled at the news. He immediately stopped but did not turn around at first. His smile flipped upside down almost instantaneously. Aben lifted his right hand and snapped his fingers. Two of his own guardsmen ran up to him after he did this.

"The city of Athena is now under a six month occupation," Aben said, nearly shouting just to make sure that Onishi heard what he was saying.

"I want two army regiments deployed to this town on top of who ever else is currently here! Let the captains of these regiments know that they will be reporting to Keigo Onishi since he is the new Head of Administration. And if Onishi doesn't try and hang whoever killed those two soldiers by the end of the occupation, I'm going to install a brand new set of administrators myself. _Am I clear!?_"

"Yes Mr. Aben," the two guardsmen replied in unity.

Onishi said nothing at first. He merely waited for Aben to say something for him.

"Onishi," Victor stated firmly after a few moments of standing there. "I'm not going to look back. I'm not going to go crazy. I'm going to trust that you'll find the killer and deal with him or her. But just like I said to my guards if I have to come back here again, we're going to have a problem. Do you feel me?"

"Yes Mr. Aben."

Victor did not say a word in response. He simply walked away.

Onishi waited for Aben to leave earshot before he muttered something under the sound of the spinning blades on the helicopter. "If he wasn't going crazy on us then he wouldn't have placed us under a six month occupation."

* * *

><p>In an apartment that looked similar in construction to Ichise's, Kazuo Yoshii was sitting on a sofa in his living room. He was currently cleaning a green hunting rifle which laid in his lap. After about 20 minutes of silence, a knock came on his front door.<p>

"Come in," Yoshii called out knowing it could not be military or police seeing as how the knock did not come immediately before his door being kicked in.

The door then opened as requested revealing a tall man with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a gray coat over a standard grayish-blue outfit. This man went by the designation of Tatsuya Sakimura.

"Oh," Yoshii said with a slightly surprised tone of voice. "Sakimura. I wasn't expecting you to come by anytime soon. Hey, could you shut the door? This weapon isn't exactly legal."

"Um... sorry," Sakimura replied. He then turned around and shut the door behind himself.

He then silently spectated as his friend continued to clean the weapon. "So," Yoshii began as he held the weapon up and aimed it at the wall. "What brings you here at this hour? Usually, I don't see you until the weekend. Were you let off of work early?"

"Actually, I wanted to check up on you," Sakimura explained. Yoshii lowered his rifle and shifted his eyes towards Sakimura in an almost suspicious manner. "You kept talking about getting that thing out of a quarantined building. Then on my way home I saw this headline."

Sakimura reached into his coat and pulled out a newspaper. He then held it up for Yoshii to see. The headline on the front page read:

_"TWO GUARDSMEN DEAD!"_

Yoshii grinned at the headline, but let out a disappointed sigh at the same time.

"The military is saying it's an act of terrorism," Sakimura stated in a shaky tone of voice. "They've also released a description of their first suspect. They say he wears an orange jumpsuit, a gray hat, and carries a backpack."

Yoshii looked down at his feet where a large gray hiking bag sat on the floor. He then shifted his attention to the outfit he was wearing, it was exactly like the one Sakimura just told him about. "Don't worry about it," Yoshii said dismissively. "I got my rifle. That's all that matters."

"Why did you kill the guardsmen," Sakimura questioned in confusion. "You said you would stop by each day until they let you in."

"Right," Yoshii said slowly. "But they never let me in so I killed them and grabbed my rifle before anyone showed up. Although, there were these other two guards I met two times before. They're probably the ones who gave the description of me. Oh well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. All I have to do is change."

Sakimura dropped his shoulders in defeat. He clearly was not able to dig through Yoshii's thick skull. "Well, what are you going to do with that gun anyway?"

"I'm going to kill people," Yoshii replied darkly.

* * *

><p>Eriko, Ichise, and Ran were on the road once more. They left the unnamed abandoned city a few days ago. The drive so far had been more unpleasant for Eriko than she originally anticipated. She figured having people traveling with her to Norway would be quite fun. Unfortunately, she ended up with the two most boring individuals on the planet.<p>

"I have an idea," Eriko announced. Ichise kept his eyes on the horizon as he looked through the passenger's window. Eriko glanced to the rear-view mirror to see what Ran was doing. As usual, she had her headphones covering her ears, and her eyes were also watching the desert as it rolled by.

"Let's play a game," Eriko suggested. No one answered her. Ichise could care less about her boredom, and there was a good chance that Ran fell asleep with her eyes closed. "Okay," Eriko continued as if both Ichise and Ran were giving her their undivided attention. "I spy with my little eye, _something_... tan."

"Sand," Ichise said in a flat tone.

Eriko glanced to him before returning her attention to the road. "Oh, nice one. Now you take a turn."

"No."

"Fine," Eriko nagged. "I'll just go again. I spy with my beautiful little eye, something blue."

"The sky," Ichise stated immediately after Eriko finished what she was saying.

Eriko nodded her head and adopted an impressed expression. "You're good at this."

"No, I'm not," Ichise argued. "There's only two things out here to see. Sand and sky."

Ichise would be correct, Eriko has not even seen a road sigh since yesterday. That was one thing Eriko disliked about the way Aben manged global infrastructure. He was not very good at it. Of course, she neglected to realize that these roads and pathways in between cities are actually meant for troop transportation, and all military vehicles have nice GPS systems.

The blonde woman took Ichise's words as a challenge. She quickly grinned in a cocky manner as she spotted something else. "I spy with my little eye, something gray."

"The road," Ichise replied which caused Eriko to grip the steering wheel in frustration.

Eriko was not yet ready to give up. She looked around for something that Ichise would have trouble guessing. She soon spotted a tall cactus standing off in the distance on her side of the road. "I spy with my little eye," she began with confidence. "Something green."

Ichise suddenly perked up and scanned the area with a confused look in his eyes. Eriko's smile grew as she watched him try to find what she had seen. "Ew, did you not catch that," she asked cockily.

"It was cactus," Ran's emotionless voice muttered from the backseat.

Eriko's smile instantly faded as she lowered her sunglasses just to scold Ran for guessing the right answer. She reached up for the rear-view mirror and aimed it back to red headed girl. "When did you start listening to us?"

"I wasn't trying to," Ran answered flatly.

"Hey," Ichise interrupted as he abruptly looked up at something ahead of them. "What's that up there?"

Eriko shifted her attention back to the road. She quickly noticed what Ichise was referring to. There on the horizon was what appeared to be a green truck driving down the road towards them. "I think that's one of those army trucks used to transport troops," Eriko informed.

Soon Eriko and Ichise spotted several more armored vehicles traveling close behind the first one. These vehicles kept coming to the point where nobody could see the end of this line of cars. They passed Eriko by on the opposite side of the road and sure enough, they were military vehicles. Eriko, Ran, and Ichise could clearly see soldiers sitting in the backs of these trucks while they would occasionally see a tank or another form of armored assault car.

"This is weird," Eriko announced with interest as the army vehicles kept passing her. She drove forward without stopping, but kept her eyes on the mobilized force. "They must be moving an entire brigade. And the only populated city behind us is Athena. Well Ichise, it looks like you made the right decision by coming with me. Something must have happened in your hometown."

"What do you think happened," asked Ichise.

"Who cares," Eriko questioned in a more relaxed voice. "It isn't your problem anymore so you shouldn't worry about that old place."

Eriko suddenly shrugged as she abruptly remembered a more important detail. "Okay, from now on Ichise, we need to be careful."

"Why?"

The blonde woman let out an impatient sigh before making her response. "I'd imagine you wouldn't know this since you've never been outside of Athena, but it is quite suspicious to see civilians driving out in these areas in between cities. It's not illegal for us to be driving out here but it does raise suspicion."

"But if we're not doing anything wrong though," Ichise replied without emotion. "Then what does it matter?"

"There is no problem except for you," Eriko informed. "We all know that you people born in Athena are not very popular in the eyes of the rest of the world. So, if we are ever stopped and interrogated, let me do the talking."

* * *

><p>After about two weeks, Aben's 6 month occupation of Athena would begin. Shinji and Hal were once again held up on the roof of their little bar which was considered to be the Rakan's headquarters. They looked over the edge of the roof and watched as a squadron of Aben's soldiers marched down the street.<p>

"Damn, what is with these guys," Hal questioned rhetorically. "Something bad must have gone down. There's no way anyone else but Aben has the authority to send this many soldiers to one town."

"Yep," Shinji agreed. "I wouldn't worry about it though. It's like you said the other day. Aben was probably in town when that murder went down. He already hates this city and he was dealing with those crooked guys in the administration department. I'm guessing he ordered this occupation and left without even announcing that he was here."

As Hal and Shinji continued to ponder the random occupation that seemed to come out of nowhere, the door to the roof was pushed open and a woman stepped outside onto the roof. She wore a magenta outfit, and an odd little ribbon in her hair which was stripped magenta and a whitish-green. Her name was Yoko Ryoko.

"Uh, Shinji," she greeted with a nervous smile. "I was washing those glasses and I accidentally dropped them. Um... they're all broken. Sorry."

Shinji adopted a more comical smile at the thought of this. "No problem," he replied and reached into his coat pocket. He promptly took out his wallet, and removed several green bills with various numbers on them. He then held the money for Yoko to see. "Here go buy some new ones. Those old glasses needed to be replaced anyway."

"Okay," Yoko stated in more cheery voice. She then walked up and took the money out of Shinji's hand.

"And try not to break the new ones on the way back," Hal nagged.

Yoko adopted a more offended expression and thumped him on the back of the head.

"Ow, I was just kidding." Hal sighed in only slight pain. Yoko then twirled around and proceeded back to the door from whence she came.

Shinji was about to let Yoko run off to go and purchase the new glasses for the bar, but he suddenly got a bad feeling about doing such a thing. "Yoko wait up," he called out which naturally caused Yoko to stop in her tracks when she was about halfway in between him and the door.

Yoko lifted a curious eyebrow at Shinji. "Yeah, what is it," she inquired.

He then looked over to Hal who was still sitting next to him. "Hey Hal," Shinji asked which instantly gained his friend's attention. "Why don't you go with her just to be on the safe side? Those soldiers have been stopping every person on the street so far. Just go with her and answer any questions they might have."

"Alright," Hal responded and stood up. "See ya in bit." With that said, Hal and Yoko walked back into the bar, leaving Shinji to watch Aben's knights as they goose stepped up, and down his neighborhood in a very ceremonial way.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Kano and Zashi were standing in a back room which was located in a large beer hall on the west side of town. Kano was quickly skimmed through his manifesto as Zashi stood in the background.<p>

"Might I recommend something," Zashi finally spoke out after a long period of silence.

"By all means," Kano replied. "You know I always enjoy hearing your input."

"Due to the recent occupation ordered by Mr. Aben himself," Zashi explained. "I believe that it would be more sensible for us to put this meeting on hold until the occupation ends. Aben is already suspicious of this city, if he finds out what we're doing, he'll have us killed."

Kano only smiled at Zashi's concerns. "Relax comrade," Kano replied and turned towards the door behind him which would lead him to the waiting crowd. "There is no problem at all. When Aben sees my work he'll absolutely go crazy for our ideals. You just wait." Kano then promptly turned away and walked out of the room, leaving Zashi standing there with a blank expression.

Kano then stepped into the actual beer hall where a small crowd of people were sitting at several vertical rows of tables watching him from their seats. These people were specifically members of a social movement that only desired the reconstruction of Athena.

The blue haired individual proceed to step up to a near by podium. Kano placed a stack of notes on the podium and looked out towards the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen of Athena's social reforms, I thank you all for inviting me here to speak with you," Kano began and gave a thankful nod of his head.

As he said this, Zashi walked out of the back room from behind the podium and came to a stop on the right of Kano. Zashi was holding a large poster which was attached to a tripod used for displaying canvases. He set up the poster and tripod next to Kano and removed a white card away from the poster. This revealed a picture depicting what appeared to be an android of some sorts.

"What you see behind me," Kano explained in a loud tone for everyone in the room to hear clearly. "Is the new body of the non-Aryan. It is clear that we as a species have stopped evolving. Aben himself has given up all hope on us. However, I have come here to Athena to begin my research on this new body of humanity. It is called the Shape, and it is the only way for us, the non-Aryans to reach perfection."

Kano halted his speech as he noticed one particular man towards the back of the room had his hand raised in the air. "Question," Kano asked.

"Um... yes," the man replied as he lowered his hand. "You just said Mr. Aben neglects us as a species, but do you have any proof of these offensive accusations?"

"I do not need to provide proof to you," Kano informed with a more arrogant grin. "The information is right in front of you. The city of Athena, your birth and death place has laid in ruins for over 5 centuries. While he is busy ensuring that every crack or crevice in Norway is shiny and new, he throws this city under a military occupation for reasons that are still for the most part, unknown to us."

Now confident that Kano has made his point with the first question to come his way, he decided to shift back to his previous topic regarding these so called 'Shapes.'

"I have analyzed human nature in detail," Kano elaborated. "One thing I've noticed is that the Aryans behave very differently to us. The key is that they exist beyond primitive thought processes. We still exist on such primal and basic needs. While the Aryans do require food and reproduction for survival, they remain completely detached from those aspects of life. However, if we are to ever reach perfection, we must do away with the need of procreation, a need of food, water, and death. By providing humanity with these new bodies, we would be granting ourselves an eternity on this planet. An eternity of perfection."


	5. Machine Gun

_Note: Regarding Toyama's eye color. I'm pretty sure they were gray but I cannot remember. I looked it up and they definitely look to be on the gray or silver side. I don't think the show ever zoomed in on him enough to tell for certain but correct me if I'm wrong with that color. Also, I'll go ahead and announce that this will not be my only story for Texhnolyze. There are next to no stories written for the show which is far less than it deserves. The next story I will right which will not be released for some time is going to be called Quiet Town. I will announce when it has been released and will give more information on it when I actually begin production on it._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Machine Gun<strong>

Victor Aben walked into a large and rather luxurious office which was the very room where he always conducted his business. The room was completely constructed of marble. There was a silk red carpet extended from the two enormous doors at the head of the room, towards Aben's carefully carved wooden desk in the back of the room.

Today has been a rather optimistic day for Mr. Aben. He had just given a very successful speech to the public and was now ready to relax in his office for the rest of the day. He was wearing a deep blue suit and black tie. He removed the blue jacket he had on and threw it on his desk before he took his seat.

Just as Aben attempted to relax, three men were allowed entrance into his office under the authority of the guards outside. One of those men was the usual guard who kept watch outside Aben's office. The second man had short brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a gray suit with a navy blue undershirt. His name was Bunken Kowakura, and he was one of Aben's minor advisers. The man standing next to him was dressed in the same attire as the other man in Aben's personal guard. He wore the average armor a soldier would, but it was black rather than silver. He had green eyes and black hair along with a nervous smile on his face.

"Mr. Aben," the first guardsmen stated formally. "Mr. Kowakura is here to introduce you to your new head of personal security."

"Ew," Aben began with a grin. "Alright, who do we have here?"

"Mr. Aben," Kowakura greeted as the guard walked away. "This is Rashid Norman. Just as your guard previously mentioned, this man is the new head of your security. He has successfully made it through both academy and military training as is the customs. We also believe he is the most fit to take on such a responsibility as ensuring the safety of our supreme leader."

Victor stood up and walked up to the obviously nervous man his adviser called Rashid Norman. Victor then held out his hand and Rashid shook it out of instinct. "Welcome," Victor said with a friendly grin. "My name's Victor. Victor Aben but you already know me. Congratulations, you have one of the most bad ass jobs on the planet."

"Well thank you Mr. Aben," Rashid stuttered cheerfully. "Wow, I never thought I would actually be meeting you face to face sir. You're a great man. You're my hero!"

Victor backed away as he and Kowakura chuckled at the comment. "Oh, you wouldn't be the first person to have said that," Aben informed and gestured towards two chairs in front of his desk. "Take a seat, relax. Do you guys want anything? A drink perhaps?"

"No thank you," Kowakura replied as he and Rashid took their seats. "Actually I have to be in a meeting in 20 minutes regarding the occupation of Athena. So it's best I keep my head cleared."

"I'm fine, sir," Rashid added.

"Well alright," Aben said with a shrug of his shoulders and leaned back in his chair. "Now then. Where are you from kid?"

"Oh, I'm from..."

Just when Rashid was about to speak, two men barged into Aben's room which was a big no-no, but they did it regardless of the consequences. The two came to a stop right behind Rashid and Kowakura.

"Mr. Aben," the first man exclaimed as if the world was about to end. As he began speaking, the two guards from outside ran in after them but he ignored them. "You must read this," he informed and held out a document for Aben to see.

"What the fuck is this," Aben questioned harshly. "Nobody interrupts me! _Nobody!_ You'd better have a damn good reason for doing this."

"Sir," the second man stated with a voice of desperation as both he and his comrade were abruptly grabbed by the guardsmen. "The sun is dying!"

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing. The guards froze in place waiting for Aben to say something. Aben himself adopted a more cynical expression. He did not seem to be too fazed by such a statement. "Wait a minute," Victor said with a more comical smirk. "What craziness are you going on about?"

"Sir," one of the men replied. "Our sun is burning out. We suspect that it will have completely dissipated towards the beginning of next year. You see our research department was curious as to why temperatures were dropping even in places like the Vormic desert. It's because our sun is cooling down. It isn't producing as much heat as it was several eons ago! If you would just read the documents..."

"I've heard enough of this nonsense," Victor argued.

"It isn't nonsense," one of the men retorted but this only seemed to make Victor more irritated with the situation. He suddenly stood up and scolded the two for bothering him with such a preposterous concept.

"You expect me to believe that our sun is dying? Do you take me for a retard or something!? Get the fuck out of my office before I have you both shot and if anyone else from that _joke_ of a research time starts talking about this madness openly you'll all be tried and hanged! Now get out of here!"

Before either of the two could make a response, they were both forced out of the room by the guards who were now holding them.

Victor let out a long sigh and sat back down. "I'm sorry about that," he stated, his smile returning to his face. "Morons. Even I have to deal with them, but that's neither here nor there. Um, Norman. I believe you were telling me what town you were born in."

* * *

><p>Just when the sun was beginning to set over the desert, Eriko pulled her car to a stop on the side of a road which was just as empty as every other road they've taken so far. Her car door was open yet she was still seated in the driver's seat with her forehead resting on the steering wheel. Ichise and Ran were standing out on the road watching her.<p>

"This is insane," Eriko complained. "We should have been out of the desert by now. Did I make a wrong turn or something?"

"I don't see how that's possible," Ichise replied flatly. "We've been going straight the entire time. Are you sure we've been headed north?"

"I know how to read a map you jackass," Eriko retorted. "We're going north I assure you that."

"If you knew how to read a map we probably would be out of the desert by now," Ichise insisted. He then shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket before simply walking away.

"Maybe the environment is changing again," Ran suggested from behind. That might very well be the first thing she has actually said in a few days.

Eriko looked up to the girl in the maroon coat who was currently wearing an odd little mask over her face for no apparent reason. "I didn't think of that," she stated and shifted her attention towards the direction they were headed which was yet again nothing but sand. "Hmm, I have an idea," she proposed. "Why don't we drive southward about two kilometers? Then we can turn around and try going north again."

"Wait. Why go two kilometers south," Ichise questioned.

"Because we were suppose to be out of this desert at that two kilometer mark," Eriko informed. "Both of you, get back in. It can't hurt to try."

* * *

><p>Night would soon fall over the desert and the city of Athena. In the bar secretly owned by the anarchists who called themselves the Rakan, Hal walked up to Yoko who was standing behind this bar. There were about fifteen people inside not including Hal and Yoko. All of these people were members of the Rakan.<p>

"Hey Yoko," Hal questioned. Yoko put one of the new glasses she had purchased on the bar and turned to see what he needed.

"Yeah? What's wrong Hal?"

"Uh, have you seen Shinji anywhere," Hal asked and scratched his head. "I've been looking all over for him but I can't find him anywhere."

Yoko lifted an eyebrow at him but quickly wiped away this expression of confusion. "Oh! I think he went home because he wasn't feeling well, but he didn't actually tell me where he was going."

Hal was about to say something else when Yoko interrupted him by pointing off to the large window on the wall behind him which granted a view of the city outside. "Hey, who's that," she inquired which naturally caused Hal to turn and see who she was speaking of.

There in the window was the figure of a man with an orange jacket and a black tactical mask covering his face. Hal only got a glimpse of this figure before his eyes were drawn to a shiny object in his hands which was pointed straight at the bar.

"Get down," Hal exclaimed and dived to the floor behind the bar. He pushed Yoko to the ground as he fell. Just when he yelled this, he heard the unexpected sound of a fully automatic machine gun firing into the building. This mixed in with the sounds of screams and shattering glass proved to be a more chaotic second that felt more to be a few minutes.

Not but a moment after the gun firing finally ceased did Hal poke his head up out of cover while Yoko did not dare move from her current position on the floor. He looked around to see that the man in the window was already long gone, and every last person other than he and Yoko where now nothing more than a bloody pile of corpses.

Yoko noticed that Hal had not yet gotten his head blown off which must mean the area was secure. She poked her head out from behind the bar as well and immediately covered her mouth at the sight of the aftermath. It took her a few moments to process what had happened but once she saw the bodies on the floor and at the different tables, she could not help but let out a blood curdling scream.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Onishi was walking towards a more secluded building which use to be an apartment complex until it was abandoned for whatever unimportant reasons there may be. Surprisingly, he was not alone in this otherwise blacked out section of town. There leaning against the wall near the front entrance was a young man with dark brown hair and gray eyes. He wore a brown jacket, black pants, and a gray vest underneath his unbuttoned jacket. He also wore a black shirt underneath his vest.<p>

Onishi waved his little friend down who in turn, gave him a welcoming nod. "Toyama," Onishi greeted. "Yes, Haruhiko Toyama. I was hoping you would show up."

Toyama pushed the old beaten down door open with his foot, allowing Onishi a clear entrance into the crumbling building. "They're both inside," Toyama informed in a casual tone of voice. "Just be careful while you're in there. This building was shelled pretty hard during Trotsky's time. It's liable to give way at any moment now."

"Right," Onishi replied as he came to a stop just in front of the door. "We'll be sure to make this quick if that's the case. So, did you think about my job offer? I need men like you for the administration of Athena. Believe me, you won't regret it."

Toyama let out a long sigh yet a contradictory smile broke out on his face. "As long as I don't end up being killed like the last batch of men who worked in that office then I'll take you up on that offer."

"Who told you they were killed," Onishi questioned. He was not allowed to actually tell anyone what really happened. Aben made up some lie about why the office was cleared out which Onishi was suppose to tell people.

"You can't fool me," said an unamused Toyama. "I know what happened to your predecessors. But I would be stupid to throw away such a well paying job. So, I'll see you on Monday."

Onishi grinned and gave a thankful nod to Toyama before walking into the building. There in what use to be the main lobby of this run down apartment were two chairs in the middle of the room. In those chairs sat two men, both of whom were very familiar to Onishi. The man sitting on the right was Shinji who was currently blowing his nose with a napkin he brought along with him. The other man had a stern expression on his face. He wore sunglasses which hid his eyes and a black bandana on his head which concealed his hair if he had any to begin with. He wore an odd black and gray outfit as well. He sat there with his arms crossed and had an unbreakable composure. His name was Kimata Genji.

"I'm sorry to drag you two out here at such a late hour but I think you know why you're here," Onishi stated as he came to a stop just in front of the two men whom he practically forced to meet with him here.

"Not a clue, Onishi," Shinji stated just before he sneezed.

"Someone doesn't look too good," Onishi suggested.

"Yeah, no shit," Shinji sighed. "I've been sick all day so can we make this quick?"

"Fine," Onishi began and glanced to Kimata before continuing. "As both of you are aware, there has been a large number of foreign troops stationed here over the past few weeks. You also know that I am well aware of the groups both of you two are involved in. I'm here to ask, no beg that neither of you do anything at all that might raise suspicion. I know both of you hate my guts, but for the sake of the entire city, if you could just not do anything for six months, I would be forever grateful."

"What are you talking about," Kimata inquired firmly. "The Salvation Union is not a suspicious organization. We exist to ensure Aben's holy words are heeded by the people of Athena. We are here to reinforce Aben's wishes, not to go against them."

"Okay," Onishi said slowly and quickly rolled his eyes at the comment. This would not be the first time Kimata has said these zealous things. "But do you really think Aben is going to believe that? In his eyes you two are nothing but revolutionaries and the last thing this city needs is Aben's suspicion! Just lay low until the occupation is over and then after all of his foreign troops leave, you can do whatever the hell you want."

"Then tell it to the anarchist over there," Kimata ordered and gestured for Shinji who was still sitting right next to him. "If you ask me, all of those hooligans need to be incarcerated immediately."

Shinji could only laugh uncontrollably at the comment. "Hooligans? We're hooligans now? The last time I checked the Rakan did nothing illegal. You're making a big deal out of nothing Onishi. The only person you need to be worried about is this psycho sitting next to me, and all of his little friends."

"I think," Kimata argued. "That as soon as we report these anarchists to Aben, the better off we'll be. Don't you agree Onishi?"

Shinji snickered once more at the zealot in the sunglasses. "Genji, you're mistaking Onishi for one of your mindless followers. The man is well educated enough to see that the real problem here is you. He only called me to come and back him up."

"If you're his backup," Kimata began cynically. "Then why does he need that young man standing outside to defend him as well? I came here completely unarmed which is more than what you can say."

"I don't have a gun," Shinji retorted.

"You may not have a weapon on your person, but that did not stop you from bringing your illness in front of everyone," Kimata reminded.

Shinji was about to call Kimata out for making such a preposterous argument but Onishi thankfully ended the unusual disagreement. "You're both here because you're both revolutionaries by legal definition," Onishi shouted. "Just don't do anything that might seem even remotely questionable until these soldiers leave! Is that too much to ask?"

* * *

><p>While Onishi was busy dealing with two armchair revolutionaries, a real threat was busy speaking in front of a small crowd of people in an unknown building towards the outskirts of town. Kano stood at the head of the room in front of a crowd that was slightly larger than his first audience while his right hand man, Zashi stood in the background.<p>

"How many of you live in a building that has not been refurbished since Trotsky's demise," Kano questioned loudly which caused everyone in the audience to raise their right hand which in turn made Kano smile with confidence.

"That ladies and gentlemen is where the problem resides. We have to force Aben to fix our city or he'll never do it! He claimed five hundred years ago that the people of Athena would redeem themselves in his eyes if the city pays off its war debts. Fast forward to this very second and three quarters of your paycheck still goes to refurbishing every city on the planet but Athena! Aben says that this is only due to Athena still working to pay her post war reparations! Yet we have already paid them in full! The reparations were paid off three hundred years ago when your ancestors had to consume insects just to survive! For the past three centuries Aben has forced us to continue to pay of reparations which no longer exist. He steals your money because he still sees you as an enemy of his Republic!"

Kano began pacing up and down the stage as he continued with his rather bold speech. "I now have a method of showing Aben that we are better than any other city on the planet. I have a way to prove to him that the non-Aryans are not yet obsolete! All we have to do is force him to listen to us. After five hundred years of oppression, the people of Athena deserve to be heard!"

The audience abruptly stood up and began clapping as they realized Kano's speech was finished. Kano looked out to the crowd and gave a nod of provable before he waved goodbye to them and turned away. He then walked up to Zashi who held out a bottle of water for him.

"Thank you, Zashi," Kano stated as he grabbed the bottle out of his friend's hand. "Now, shall we depart? Our duty is done here."

"A very good speech," Zashi complemented. "I believe it was most successful."

"Well, we can hope so," Kano said with his signature smile returning to his face.

* * *

><p>Eriko finally stopped her vehicle in the middle of the road after she was satisfied with the distance they had traveled south. "Ugh, finally," Eriko sighed and glanced to the rear-view mirror to see if her theory was correct. Surprisingly, it was. As soon as Eriko averted her eyes to the mirror, she gasped in astonishment to see a grassy field to the north.<p>

"Look at that, Ichise," Eriko stated and pointed over shoulder. Ichise naturally said nothing but glanced to the mirror on his side out of his own curiosity. He instantly noticed the valley behind him, but did not have much of a reaction.

Eriko rolled her eyes as she realized Ichise was not going to say anything to her. With nothing left to do but continue moving northward, she quickly turned the car around and headed straight into the nighttime field which directly contradicted the lifeless desert. Eriko then returned her attention to the rear-view mirror and aimed it at Ran. To Eriko's annoyance, Ran was as unfazed as Ichise was. Ran was simply too focused on her music to care about her surroundings. Eriko began tapping impatiently as the journey to paradise continued onward in a seemingly endless manner. Minutes would quickly turn to hours and soon Eriko could barely keep her eyes opened as the night progressed.

Soon, Eriko would have her fill of all of this driving and pull the car over to the side of the road and came to a stop there in the middle of nowhere. "Alright, I'm tired," Eriko informed as she killed the engine.

Ichise did not answer her although she could tell he was awake since his eyes were open, looking out towards the horizon. Ichise then glanced over his shoulder to see that Ran was already lying down in the backseat, fast asleep. With that bit of knowledge, Ichise pulled the lever at the bottom of his seat which caused it to fall backwards. Ichise then unbuckled his seat belt and laid down on his makeshift bed.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder which instinctively caused Ichise to push Eriko away. "Stop it," Ichise ordered flatly before Eriko's map was practically shoved in his face.

"No, not that," Eriko corrected, knowing immediately what he assumed she was attempting to do. "I'm only trying to show you something." She then pointed an area at the top of the map which depicted the continent they were currently on. "Do you see these mountains here," asked Eriko.

Ichise completely turned himself around and narrowed his eyes at the map. He then finally spotted the mountain symbol towards the top of the map and gave Eriko a quiet nod.

"Well," Eriko explained. "The town right underneath that mountain range is the city where Aben was born, raised, and now calls his home."

"You mean the city of Concord," asked Ichise and Eriko nodded once more.

"Now, I'll be honest with you Ichise," Eriko sighed. "I don't really know where Norway is. However, I have a pretty good theory. I know for a fact that it is somewhere in those mountains. If we were to travel Concord and go straight towards the mountains, I think there is a pretty good chance we might be able to come across the entrance to Norway."

Ichise would have just shrugged to this and gone along with what she was saying, but he then remembered something. "What about the Vanguard?"

The Vanguard were probably the most elite branch of Aben's military. Their soul duty was to keep people out of Norway. Eriko groaned as she just remembered the Vanguard. "Ugh... never mind them," Eriko stated. "I have a plan to get into Norway without any trouble." With that said, Eriko folded up the map and placed it on the dashboard before she reached into the back seat and tossed Ichise a pillow and blanket. Ran had already taken hers, and Eriko claimed the last blanket and pillow for herself.

* * *

><p>It would be a few hours later before Ichise finally woke himself from a deep sleep. Strangely enough, he looked around to see everything bathed in a hazy blue glow which presumably came from the three full moons which belonged to Cyan. This was a very rare phenomenon which occurred. It was not the usual insanity of the planet but a reoccurring enigma.<p>

Ichise turned and reached over for Eriko who was still sleeping next to him in the driver's seat. "Doc," he stated and began shaking her until she woke up with a more irritated groan. Ichise then turned to look at Ran who was also asleep. "Ran," he stated in a louder tone which naturally caused the red headed girl to open her eyes.

"What is it," Eriko asked in annoyance but quickly silenced herself as she too noticed the blue light which now bathed her nighttime surroundings. "Oh, look at that. I forget what this thing is called, but isn't this the reason Aben named the planet Cyan?"

Ichise did not answer her but she did appear to be correct. The entire world was completely blanketed by an aquatic blue light.

"Hmm," Eriko pondered. "This kind of creeps me out, I'll be perfectly honest."

"Why," Ichise inquired and curiously averted his eyes towards the blonde woman sitting next to him.

"You see, this kind of thing only happens because of the sun," Eriko elaborated. "The surface of our moons are composed of a blue dust. That dust reflects the light from the sun as you're probably already aware of. However, the only reason this event happens is because the moons reflect three times as much light as they would normally do. The last two times this phenomenon occurred, the sun actually sent off solar flares which were facing us. But now, I don't know why the moons are reflecting so much sunlight."

"Maybe it's another solar flare," Ran suggested from behind.

"I would hope so," Eriko muttered.

It would be around this time at night when Ichise woke up and saw the sky, that Shinji would make it back to his apartment. He froze as he twisted the front door, but noticed it was strangely unlocked for some reason. Shinji glanced over his shoulder before pushing the door open. He was almost instantaneously greeted by Yoko who unexpectedly embraced him before he could even realize what was happening.

"Hey Yoko," Shinji stated casually, at first not noticing anything unusual. "Did you see the sky?"

"_Shinji_," a familiar voice interjected right when he was about to ask Yoko what the problem was since he could blatantly tell she was crying over something.

Shinji looked up to see Hal sitting on his recliner with an unreadable expression.

"What's wrong," Shinji asked in utter confusion.

"Man," Hal sighed and shook his head in bewilderment. "While you were gone Yoko and I were keeping tabs at the bar. I was talking to her and I looked over to the window, and I saw this man standing just outside the building. I only saw him for a second before he pulls out this machine gun and started mowing everyone down. He got fifteen of our guys Shinji! The dude killed all of them and ran off. The only reason Yoko and I are alive is because we took cover behind the bar." Hal then promptly buried his head into the palms of his hands.

Shinji would have never believed such a story, but the sincere ways Hal and Yoko were behaving simply would not make sense if it was some demented joke. "Who was it," Shinji questioned in a desperate attempt to get a better understanding of what Hal was describing to him. "Who did he kill? What did he look like?"

"I don't know," Hal said in a defeated tone. "I tried to figure out what happened but before I could even look to see who did and didn't make it, the military and police came by and threw us out. They've been searching for the guy all night but they haven't found anything yet. I tried to give a description but I could barely see the guy. It was already dark out when it happened."

Shinji gritted his teeth at the idea of this whole situation. He simply could not believe that he turned his back for an hour or more, and the next thing he knew, fifteen of his followers had been killed by an unknown gunman.

Shinji suddenly ran out of the living room and towards his bedroom. He slammed the door shut behind himself. He then ran over to the nightstand on the left side of his bed where a telephone was positioned. He picked up the phone and began dialing a number furiously. When he was finished dialing he pressed the call button and held the phone up to his ear.

After a few moments the tired voice of a woman finally answered. "Hello?"

"Miss Hirota," Shinji practically growled in response. "Put Onishi on the phone _now_."

A second or two of confused shuffling could be heard on the other end of the line before Onishi's voice could be heard. "Who is this," he asked firmly.

"It's Shinji."

"What do you want at this time of night," Onishi inquired with a long sigh.

"You know what I'm calling about," Shinji stated harshly. "You lured me out to that dump and had some gunman come by to murder everyone at my bar! Just what the hell is the point of that anyway. If you wanted to take Kimata and I out, then why didn't you deal with us rather than kill a bunch of innocents!?"

"Are you insane," Onishi asked in shock. "Why the hell would I hire that gunman!? I only found out about it after I got home and turned on the news. Do you think I would intentionally go out of my way to make Aben more suspicious of the city than he already is?"

"No, you wanted to take us out and keep Aben from becoming suspicious of the town. You wanted to have us killed without the foreign troops finding out."

"Do you even hear yourself," Onishi questioned with obvious cynicism. "If I wanted to appease Aben's wishes, I would be doing exactly what I'm trying to do now! I'm trying to keep this place quiet and insignificant. That becomes pretty damn hard to do when some random guy with a machine gun strolls along and murders everyone in a bar. Keep in mind that this happened right after those two soldiers were murdered, probably by the same person. Yet you think I'm behind it? Yes, Shinji. That is exactly what's going on. I set everything up so now Aben will come back here, and kill every living thing in Athena down to the last microscopic organism."

Shinji glanced around as he began to calm down. Clearly, Onishi had nothing to do with this obvious act of terrorism. "If you didn't do it, then who did?"

"I plan to start searching for this bastard tomorrow," Onishi informed. "I'll call you when I find anything."

"Don't think you're the only one who's gonna be searching for him," Shinji warned. "But you'd better hope that we don't find him before you."

Shinji then promptly hung up the phone.


	6. Apparitions

_Note: Remember last chapter when I introduced Toyama into the story and I commented that I assumed his eyes were gray. Well I was re-watching the series and it turns out, his eyes are freaking green! Whatever, this is an alternate universe anyway so from now on, we'll just call him 'Dark Toyama' from now on. Also, I remembered how egotistical Kano is. I'm glad I remembered that before I started heading more deeply into his character. He's still portrayed as the closest thing to a 'good guy' this story has, but I'll have to rethink his development for here on out._

* * *

><p><span><strong>Apparitions<strong>

Only one month remained before the foreign occupation of Athena was finally over. Strangely enough, Kano's movement had grown to a significant degree within these few months, regardless of the occupation of soldiers which quite literally outnumbered the civilian population.

Over a short time, Kano was able to collect a small group of local military officers who were higher ranking in Athena's garrison. They were now acting as strategic advisers to him and his movement. They surrounded Kano as he sat behind a desk in an office which use to be abandoned until he and his cronies secretly began occupying it. There were plenty of abandoned areas in the torn down city which Kano could utilize to meet up with his followers. This was one of the more common meeting places.

"Mr. Kano," one of the men stated with a tone of desperation. "I beg you not to make any moves until Aben's soldiers are out of the city and not breathing down our necks. We've been creating Shapes in the factories you listed for the past two months but we simply can't revolt when so many soldiers are marching around the city. The Shapes wouldn't have enough breathing space to fight effectively."

Kano's smile grew as he rested his chin in the palm of his left hand. "What on earth are you talking about? I told you. There is no need to fight. We are doing nothing illegal. We are merely improving Aben's regime."

"I believe I have already warned you," Zashi began, standing at Kano's side as he always did. "Mr. Aben is not going to heed our requests. I must implore that you not be so hasty in making decisions of this scale at the moment. I request that we remain under the radar until the foreign soldiers have been removed from Athena."

"What nonsense do you speak of, Zashi," asked Kano. "I not only have invented bodies of metal which are superior over flesh and blood, but I have also given them weapons which are capable of blasting holes through nearly any material in their way. Now, is my only obstacle to deal with incompetence in the people I have trusted to carry out my wishes?"

Several of the people around Kano gave each other nervous glances towards each other. Zashi let out a quiet sigh as he realized they were waiting on him to speak up for them. "Sir, our Shapes are outnumbered twenty to one at the moment. Even if we do have superior equipment, it would not truly make a difference. If our soldiers march out in the streets now, they'll be gunned down from all sides. The weapons you invented will not be much use when the operator is lying dead on the ground. I recommend we wait one more month until they leave. In the meantime, it will give us ample opportunity to build more Shapes and weapons."

Kano closed his eyes as he contemplated this. "Very well. I shall wait, but even if we do not make a move now, then how are we expected to win in the future? From what you have just said, Zashi, this social reform was doomed from the start. Is there any point in announcing our existence to the world, or shall we give up and submit to Aben's regime?"

"That's not what we're trying to say," one Kano's advisers interjected which caused the blue haired individual at the desk to instantly scold him.

"Hold on a moment, I believe I was speaking to Zashi." With that said, Kano then turned and gestured for Zashi to answer his question.

It took Zashi a few split seconds to formulate a response. "Sir, the problem is not futility, the problem is momentum. When Aben's troops leave the city, we will officially be at a great advantage. We have devised a plan that will not only allow us to take control of the city, but occupy five other cities surrounding Athena. From there we can build up an effective resistance against Aben."

Kano lifted an intrigued eyebrow at his right hand man. "Really, and what is this plan of yours?"

"I believe I am not the proper person you should inquire about such a subject," Zashi insisted.

"Very well," Kano replied and scanned the room. "Then who shall enlighten me on this new plan of ours?"

"I can, Mr. Kano," one of the advisers stated nervously. Kano nodded, allowing him to elaborate on what Zashi had told him. "Mr. Kano, as Zashi previously stated, the problem is not weakness in our ideals or our followers, but momentum. In order for us to gain stride in a world which only desires to destroy our movement, we need to build an effective military. We have all agreed that waiting until the foreign troops to leave Athena is required if we wish to survive. We could use the sewers to move our Shapes to the administration building. From there we can have a small force kill off the city officials and allow the non-Shaped followers to take control of the streets. We will then divide up the remaining majority of the Shapes and load them onto the five trains of Athena. We must then send the armies out to the five closest cities, take out their administration buildings as quickly as possible, and begin building our army from there."

Kano's smile abruptly faded as he noticed a flaw in the plan almost instantaneously. "I was under the interpretation that Mr. Aben derailed Athena's trains when Trotsky was defeated to keep these people from doing exactly what you described."

"Our supporters have been sent down to the old train station. We have been able to attach them back to the rails," the adviser informed. "Now, from what we have estimated, we will be able to take control of those five cities before word gets back to Aben that we are taking land. By the time he can send a counter resistance, we will already have a sustainable army. From there we must focus all of our power on reaching the east coast which is where you were born, sir. Then we need to travel all the way to the west coast. If we can reach the west coast, we will no longer be surrounded by the enemy. We will have a chance if we only have to fight on two fronts, north and south."

For the longest time, Kano simply glared at his advisers. "And let's say we succeed. Let us visualize a world where we do exactly what Trotsky did, because keep in mind, that man did the same thing that you are speaking of. He took control of the entire desert, but he was never able to send his troops beyond the sandpit. Would we not run into the same scenario? Is it not a better idea to do things differently rather than repeat the same old mistakes?"

"Sir," Zashi interjected. "The reason Trotsky lost his war was because he stretched his army and resources too far. His military was not large enough to expand all the way across the Vormic desert _and_ keep all of the cities under control, while he simultaneously fended off Aben's endless hordes of soldiers. We on the other hand, have a great mentor who will guide us to victory. That mentor is history itself. We now know that we must build an army of immeasurable size and begin building train tracks all across the desert. If we can connect each town into each other via a giant web then supplies and troop transport will no longer be an issue."

Kano gave a light nod of approval. "Very well," he stated in monotone. "We will hold off on our operations for now. Until then, I expect our infantry numbers to grow rapidly. Take over more factories if you need to I'd better see considerable progress by the end of the month."

* * *

><p>Onishi and Michiko were driving in a black car through a nameless street towards the administration building. Michiko sat in the driver's seat while Onishi solemnly sat in the back with his eyes glued to the right hand window. He allowed his gaze to wander up the wall of a building they were now passing.<p>

This building was just as old and dusty as any other structure in Athena. However, for a split second, something did catch Onishi's eye. In one of the windows on the fifth floor of the building, Onishi spotted what appeared to be a large, solid white man standing there in the window, looking down on the streets below.

Onishi abruptly lifted his head up off of his hand and widened his eyes. He frantically looked back to see if he could spot the tall man but he could not see anything at this point. The building was now well behind them. "What was that?"

Michiko glanced to the rear-view mirror to see what Onishi was talking about. "Something wrong, sir?"

"Uh, no," Onishi replied after realizing that he was speaking aloud rather than subconsciously. "I just thought I saw something, but it isn't important."

* * *

><p>On the other side of town, Shinji was sitting behind his bar. By now, the area had been cleaned of broken glass and blood as if a mass murder never occurred here. There were only a few members of the Rakan sitting at the tables. Shinji was polishing a glass when Hal abruptly barged into the main room and walked up to the bar where he took a seat at one of the stools directly in front of Shinji.<p>

"Hey Hal, what's going on?"

"Man," Hal began in a slightly nervous tone of voice which caused Shinji to look up at him with an expression of curiosity. "Something is definitely going down in this city," Hal continued darkly. "I don't like it. Some of the guys are saying they saw a bunch of people all going into one of those abandoned factories late last night. I've seen some weird shit myself too."

"What kind of stuff have you been seeing," Shinji inquired as he continued to polishing the glass, only giving Hal half of his interest.

Hal sighed and allowed his head to fall onto the table. "I don't know how to describe it, man. I was taking a nap on bench in the park this morning. I was tired so maybe that had something to do with it, but anyway. I woke up and looked towards an alley at the edge of the park. I saw this one guy talking to a huge tall man. He looked as white as a ghost or something. I fell back asleep after that so maybe it was a dream but if it is, I remember it perfectly."

"Hmm," Shinji pondered. "That probably was a dream. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"Speaking of worrying," Hal abruptly stated and looked up to Shinji. "I know you've been searching for that gunman. I'm guessing you and the guys haven't found him yet, seeing as how the government finally caught him."

Shinji abruptly stopped his cleaning of the glass but did not look up to Hal. "Bullshit," he dismissed. "Onishi just rounded up some street thug and claimed him to be the guilty guy. They just want this occupation to end. Believe me, Hal, that's not our guy. I'm gonna find him and I'm gonna be the one to put a hole in his head."

"If you say so," Hal replied. He then stood up and promptly walked away.

* * *

><p>Later that night, Mr. Aben was standing in his office. He was on the verge of leaving when his head of security, and apparently his personal messenger, Rashid Norman walked into the room with a paper in hand. "Mr. Aben," he greeted. "You may not believe it, but the guys in Athena actually caught the murder of those two guardsmen. They also claim he was the same man responsible for killing those civilians in that one bar."<p>

Aben looked up to him from his desk with a cynical expression. "I don't give a fuck about those commies. Are you sure they capture the guy who killed my men?"

"That's what the administration keeps insisting," Rashid informed.

"Well, as long as they found the guy," Aben replied. "I'm starting to like Mr. Onishi. I suppose it was a good decision to place him in charge of that horrid excuse of a city. Now, if only he had a more legitimate position in a more reputable town."

It took Aben a few more moments before he finally made a decision on what to do about this supposed event. "Go ahead," Aben abruptly began. "And tell our soldiers to leave Athena early. I think they've earned it. So the occupation has officially ended and they pass my little tests with flying colors. But we're still going to keep an eye on them. I don't need another Trotsky running around."

* * *

><p>Cyan's moons were high in the sky over Athena at this point. Toyama and Onishi found themselves meeting in an alley just behind the administration building. Toyama carried a large duffel bag around his right shoulder. He had been carrying it around all day and Onishi was growing more and more curious about what was inside.<p>

"Do you care to tell me why we're here," asked Onishi.

Toyama cracked his usual creepy little smile and threw the bag to the ground just in front of his feet. "I thought you might find this thing interesting," Toyama stated as he knelt down and reached for the zipper to the bag. "I found this thing last night and I have yet to figure out what it actually is. This hasn't been the only one I've seen either."

Toyama then promptly unzipped the bag and opened it up. He reached inside and pulled out an odd object. It was relatively large which would explain why he needed such a large bag to carry it. The object appeared to be some sort of large green pod. It was shaped like egg but there were several horizontal creases along the pod which gave it the appearance of a massive grub worm. At the top of this green pod was a set of two metal pipes leading into a small metal plate. Toyama held this ominous object up by the two pipes for Onishi to see.

"What is that thing," Onishi questioned with a slightly disturbed look on his face.

"Again," Toyama replied casually. "If you want to know what it is then you should ask someone else. I merely stumbled upon it is all. I thought about taking it to the local army base instead but I felt like that would not be the best idea. I simply don't trust the soldiers anymore. They're nothing more than Aben's ears. I decided to come give this to you. I figured you could make better sense of it than I can."

"And you said this wasn't the only one you saw?"

"Correct," Toyama confirmed. "I found this one along with an entire stockpile of other similar green objects in a warehouse towards the southern end of town. They were loaded up in boxes. I couldn't tell you how many there were but if you want, I could show you."

"Bring me to them," Onishi demanded in monotone.

* * *

><p>It would take no time at all for the two to arrive to a group of old warehouses at the southernmost point of the city. Other than the streetlights, the area was completely dark and devoid of people. Most of the outer reaches of Athena were like this. Toyama and Onishi headed up to one particular warehouse. It was the only building with a light illuminating the entrance which was nothing more than a green metal door with a panic bar installed on it.<p>

"This is the place I was telling you about," Toyama announced. Onishi did not reply. Instead he simply followed Toyama up to the entrance. Toyama pushed the door open and gestured for Onishi to be the first one in. The two then entered the building and Toyama led Onishi to a nearby industrial crate in the middle of the room.

Toyama pulled a small flashlight out of his pocket and switched it on. He then shined it into the box, revealing that it was filled to the brim with identical green pods just like the one he had brought to Onishi. "You see, now," asked Toyama. Onishi bent down and picked up one of the pods by the metallic pipes as Toyama continued speaking. "Someone is mass producing these objects. Since there is such a huge stockpile of them here in this warehouse, whoever his making them must be nearby. You know, I wouldn't be so worried about finding a pile of weapons in these crates. At least then we could easily identify them. What personally makes me so concerned is the fact that I have no idea what these things are, but they must be important to someone. Do you think they belong to the foreign troops occupying the city?"

Onishi dropped the pod back into the box and turned away from Toyama. He then scanned the room with his eyes. "I doubt it. They would have told us if they were planning on using these old factories. This must be somebody else. How many corporations still do business with us? Perhaps this is some new surprise product?"

"That's very doubtful," Toyama sighed. "The only companies still using our factories are smaller businesses. Most of the major money makers still refuse to open factories here as punishment for the Trotsky incident. But even if this was a product, they wouldn't be lying around down here. The only factories still occupied are in the northern districts. Everything down here hasn't been used in centuries. It just wouldn't make sense that they would store their products so far away from the assembly line when there are so many warehouses up north as well."

"So, is it safe to say that these things are being manufactured by civilians," Onishi inquired.

"That's the only possible explanation."

It took Onishi a few moments to build a response but a question suddenly struck his mind. "Say, how did you find this place to begin with?"

"I was exploring," Toyama responded. "I wanted to pass the time and I like seeing all of these old places which haven't been used since the war ended so long ago. I saw the light on at the entrance and decided to take a look inside. Actually, Mr. Onishi. There is still something that you should probably see."

"What is it?"

Toyama turned away and headed off towards the door. Onishi lifted a curious eyebrow at him but reluctantly followed after a split second of wondering what strange phenomenon he was going to encounter next.

The two then came around to the back side of the warehouse. The only thing present back here was a waist high brick wall which was covered in perfectly circular holes. Onishi immediately noticed the circles in the wall but did not see anything out of the ordinary. "I'm sure these were just left over ruins from the war," Onishi suggested.

"I considered that as being a possibility too," Toyama began. "However, the problem with your theory is that we have no weapons which produce circular holes like that. This must have been carved in by someone."

"Are you sure it wasn't the work of some sort of weapon," inquired Onishi.

"I'm almost positive it isn't," Toyama reassured. "If you'll go around to the back of that wall, you'll see no damage has been done to the building across the street or to the ground even though these holes go straight through the wall. If it was a weapon then whatever they were shooting would have to disintegrate right after it pierced the other side of this wall, but I simply cannot thing of a single firearm that would do such a thing."

Onishi curiously tilted his head at the destroyed wall as he attempted to figure out what could have caused this damage. "You're right, Toyama. The creepiest thing about this whole situation is that we see the results of what someone or something is doing, yet we have no idea what's causing it. Do you think this could just be Cyan's usual nature toying with our minds?"

"I find that highly doubtful as well," Toyama dismissed. "When the planet starts acting up it will do very inconsistent things but this is very consistent. These holes are exactly identical, they're all the same size. Those green objects in the warehouse are also exactly the same. If this was the planet itself, then trust me, we would know without a second glance. I will assert my theory again, I believe this is the work of civilians."

"But what is the point," asked Onishi. "These things make no sense at all and they don't even seem to be connected. I mean, how do you go from unknown green objects, to circular holes in a concrete wall? They can't be related."

Toyama glanced over his shoulder as he heard a car driving in the street in front of the warehouse. The noise only captured his attention for a split second before he turned back towards Onishi. "But they have to be related," he asserted. "That is the only explanation. Why else would the objects and the holes literally be on the same square of property if they were not related in some way?" Toyama glanced over his shoulder one more time for no clear reason at all before he continued speaking. "Mr. Onishi, if you want. I could come back here tomorrow and see if I can find anything when it isn't so late," he suggested

"Please do," Onishi requested. "But keep in mind that the people producing these green things are probably not very friendly. If they were, they would not have to manufacture them in the shadows like this."

* * *

><p>Yoshii was sitting in his apartment as he did every night. He was watching his television. The news station of Athena was speaking very highly of the military police, and how they were able to capture the supposed gunman who not only mowed down a busy bar but killed two on duty guardsmen. Yoshii watched the events on the screen unfold with a confident smile on his face.<p>

It would not be too much longer before he heard a knock at his front door. "Come in," he called out in an almost sly tone of voice. He listened to the door open up. Sakimura then walked into the apartment from outside. He stopped in his tracks and watched Yoshii for a few moments who was still not taking his eyes off of the television screen.

"I'm surprised you're still here," Sakimura informed in a nervous tone.

"Oh," asked Yoshii. "And why would you be surprised by that?"

Sakimura sighed and almost did not reply, but he managed to muster up the courage to finally speak his mind. "I know you're the murderer. But how are you free if they keep saying they caught the person who killed all of those people?"

"Why would you accuse me of such a thing," Yoshii questioned with sarcastic innocence. He then stood up and turned to face Sakimura. "How could I be the murderer when they clearly caught him already. They're even going to execute him tomorrow. Now tell me, Sakimura. Does that sound like something I would be involved with?"

Sakimura took a defensive step backwards before making his reply. "Well, you're the only person I've met who possesses firearms yet you're not in law enforcement or military. You've never worked in those fields either. You were also the same person that kept trying to get into the same building those guards were protecting. Then you claim to have retrieved your lost possession out of it the day those soldiers were murdered."

"You got me there," Yoshii responded. "So what if I killed a few anarchists? Mr. Aben would love me if he knew who those people were. I know you may not understand it now, Sakimura, but I'm doing this to save our city. The people I've been killing are the same people who would spell doom for the entire city if they were to act on their thoughts. I'm simply helping out the military and that is all."

"But if you keep killing people, the military is going to think you are a neo Trotskyite or some other revolutionary. You've already killed two soldiers which was the only reason Mr. Aben ordered this occupation. Don't you think these actions are putting us in more risk rather than what the Rakan guys are doing?"

Yoshii smiled at Sakimura as if he just told a joke rather than bring up a very valid point about the whole situation. "That's preposterous. This occupation is a good thing. It will serve as a warning to the civilians of Athena that nobody has forgotten about Trotsky. It warns the Rakan that if they act up, they'll end up like the Bolsheviks. The only thing left to do is finish killing off the Rakan members. There are a lot of them but I'll manage it in dear time. I would worry about those Union guys but they practically worship Mr. Aben. I doubt their planning any sort of revolution."

"Are those pseudo-anarchists really worth all of this trouble," Sakimura inquired, hoping to get his point across to Yoshii at long last.

"It's not the Rakan I'm worried about," Yoshii replied. "The only reason I'm targeting them is because I don't know of any other way to draw out Aben's real enemy. I know there's another revolution brewing in the city. All of the signs point to it. I just need to draw out the Trotsky of this age and kill him."

* * *

><p>Eriko was driving along a highway which was just as deserted as any other road in Cyan which stretched across the countryside. Ran was only barely awake in the backseat. Her headphones were covering her ears as usual and she kept her tired eyes on the dark horizon. Ichise was about to fall asleep as well when Eriko abruptly threw the map in his face.<p>

"What is it," he asked in his usual emotionless monotone voice.

"I just thought you should know that..." Eriko stopped herself as she glanced to the rear-view mirror to see that Ran was not paying attention to her which should have been expected by now. She lifted her right hand in the air and began snapping her fingers until the redheaded girl finally looked in her direction. "Ran, listen to what I have to say for a moment. This concerns you too since you'll probably be with us for the remainder of the trip."

Ran removed her headphones and waited for Eriko to continue with whatever it was she had to inform both her and Ichise about. Ichise looked down to the map and unfolded it. He then noticed a large red ellipses drawn around the northern area of the map.

"Do you see that red circle," inquired Eriko as she glanced to Ichise who nodded in response. "We're about to enter that zone. I know you haven't been outside Athena all your life and I don't know where you have been, Ran, but who lives in that circle should be known by everyone."

"Isn't this where Mr. Aben lives," Ichise questioned as he pointed to an icon on the map which marked the capital city Yuma in the center of the circle.

Eriko only shrugged at this. "Correct, but we shouldn't be worried about him. Have either of you two ever heard of Apollyon."

"I've heard that word before," Ran informed. "But I never knew what it meant."

"Apollyon has been Aben's protector since he was first born," Eriko explained. "I would like to say Apollyon is a god but he's more like a fiend. He patrols in that circle I drew. He is Aben's guardian angel, even if he is anything but an angel. Apollyon can hear and smell anything within this circle. His senses are far superior to any animal on the planet. I'm telling you all this now because if you even so much as indicate for a second that you will cause harm to Mr. Aben then Apollyon will find out and he will be all over us."

Neither Ran nor Ichise said anything in response which made Eriko even more nervous than she already was. "Look," she exclaimed. "This is a serious issue. This especially applies to you Ichise, since you are from the most hated city on the planet. When we enter that zone and you say anything at all about being born in Athena or anything that might be negative towards Mr. Aben, then it won't matter if Apollyon is right above us in the sky our a hundred kilometers away. That monster will hear you and rip your heart out before you even see him coming. He is literally the catalyst of the apocalypse. It has always been said that Aben is the only reason Apollyon hasn't killed off everyone on the planet. If Aben were to die tonight, then we would all be dead by morning."

"That sounds like a myth," Ichise stated with a cynical tone.

Eriko bit her bottom lip as soon as he said this. "I tell you what, Ichise. Why don't we go drive by the capitol building and you kill Mr. Aben. Then you can see for yourself how crazy that creature is because keep in mind that Apollyon is not a man, Apollyon is a monster. I've only seen pictures of him but he is very real, and he's as old as Aben himself."

"Fine," Ichise sighed quietly. "I'll keep quiet from here on out."

Eriko rolled her eyes at the statement. "It's not like you've been saying much before hand, anyway."


End file.
